🔗 Share this article 766 and All That - Cook's Dominance of Down Under Alastair Cook's impressive 766 scored by an English batsman on an Ashes tour was only surpassed by the great Wally Hammond Lead Cricket Journalist based in Brisbane Released 45 minutes ago Brisbane hasn't been a city to give the Three Lions some much-needed confidence in the series Following the loss to Australia at the series start, the tourists have to bounce back before heading to the Gabba, a stadium where England have not won for decades English cricketers have habitually been lambs to the slaughter at the Gabbatoir Cook's Memorable Success Among a recent history of English disappointments, hopes and athletes exists a motivational tale provided by a cricket hero It is exactly a decade and a half after the legendary Cook conquered the Gabba via a landmark 235 not out, saving the first Test of 2010-11 and setting England on course for their unique Ashes triumph in Australia in the past 38 years Record-Breaking Performance It was the beginning of Cook's triumphant circumnavigation of Australia; three hundreds and 766 runs Wally Hammond is the only Englishman who has made more runs throughout a campaign in this country England won 3-1, with every win by an innings They have not won a Test victory there since that memorable series Personal Reflections "You forget the difficult moments, the apprehension and concern that went into that," the cricketer reflects "I reflect proudly. I played a significant part in a series when England triumphed 3-1 in Australia where each victory were won by an innings" The Road to Greatness His journey to his Australian epic started a year and a half before at the end of that year's Ashes in the UK Though England triumphed, the opening batsman averaged less than 25 with just one score above 50 He sought improvement "While cricket involves teamwork, the individuality does make you feel like you want to pull your weight," he notes Game Improvement Two days after the triumphant events, he was back at work hitting hundreds and hundreds of balls in the nets with Graham Gooch The initial results proved positive The batsman achieved three hundreds on the 2009-10 winter tours in South Africa and Bangladesh Career-Defining Moments After coming back to home soil for the 2010 summer, the left-hander performed poorly Across eight appearances against Bangladesh and Pakistan, his top innings totaled just 29 runs On nought not out after the second day during the final Test against Pakistan at The Oval, Cook believed it might be his last Test innings ahead of potential omission "I was sitting in the bar, trying to find the solution in the bottom of a beer bottle," he confesses Critical Moment Cook's 110 secured his place on the plane to Australia The team maintained preparations by winning two and drawing one in practice matches in Australia Come the first Test at the Gabba, they encountered a Siddle hat-trick Memorable Collaboration Shortly prior to the end of the third day, both batsmen began England's second batting effort trailing by 221 runs They achieved 19 without loss at stumps and proceeded with an exhibition etched in Ashes folklore "I don't remember any instructions, our discussions," Cook remembers The opening pair contributed 188 for the first wicket Cook's 235 not out stood as the best performance by an Englishman in Australia since the 1930s Series Dominance England exploited an incredible start during the following Test in South Australia Following Anderson's additional wicket Michael Clarke, the score read 2-3 and struggled throughout He continued his Brisbane success with 148 in a famous match highlighting Pietersen's dominance over the Australian attack Series Conclusion England could have retained the urn in Perth, however Johnson to indicate the trouble he would cause four years later What followed was perhaps England's single greatest day during Ashes competition on Australian soil In Melbourne, the 100,000-seater cathedral of Australian sport, and on Boxing Day, the home side collapsed to 98 all out "If Carlsberg did Boxing Days, that defined it. Amazement prevailed as the day ended," says Cook Ultimate Success Motivated by purpose to secure the Ashes, Cook was at it again at the SCG His score of 189 contributed to England's 644, their best score in a Test in Australia The question was not if England would win the match and the Ashes, but when "The feeling was unbelievable," Cook remembers "Following Tremlett's wicket of the last player to secure victory, it was a moment of complete happiness" Historical Significance The batsman received top accolades The following seven seasons of his Test career featured further accomplishments Following his international retirement, he received a knighthood for services to cricket "{I couldn't have played any better|