🔗 Share this article Remembering 766 - When Cook Conquered the Australian Team Alastair Cook's impressive 766 by an Englishman on an Ashes tour is only bettered by the great Wally Hammond Chief Cricket Reporter based in Brisbane Released just now Brisbane hasn't been a place that offers England badly required hope for the Ashes Following the loss to the Australian side during the opening match, the visiting team must stir themselves for a trip to the Gabba, a ground where victory has eluded England for over thirty years English cricketers have frequently been lambs to the slaughter in Brisbane A Shining Knight's Triumph Within recent memory of broken English hopes, aspirations and players lies an inspirational story provided by a shining knight Today commemorates a decade and a half after Sir Alastair Cook dominated in Brisbane through a defining unbeaten 235, preserving the initial Test of 2010-11 establishing England's trajectory for their unique Ashes triumph down under in the past 38 years Record-Breaking Performance It commenced of his successful circumnavigation of Australia; three hundred-plus scores and 766 runs The legendary Hammond stands as the only Briton with higher run totals in a series down under England won 3-1, where each success through innings victories The team hasn't secured a Test victory there since those glory days Looking Back "You forget the tough times, the tension and worry accompanying that success," the cricketer reflects "With pride I remember. I played a significant part in a series when the English secured a 3-1 victory on Australian soil where each victory was achieved comprehensively" Path to Success Cook's road toward Australian glory started a year and a half before after the 2009 Ashes on home soil Though England triumphed, the opener averaged less than 25 with just one score above 50 He desired better "While cricket involves teamwork, individual contribution does make you feel that personal responsibility matters," he explains Skill Development Two days after the victory celebrations, he was back at work hitting hundreds and hundreds deliveries in practice under Graham Gooch's guidance Beginning performances proved positive Cook made three hundred-run innings on the 2009-10 winter tours in South Africa and Bangladesh Career-Defining Moments When Cook returned to England for that year's summer, the left-hander performed poorly Across eight appearances facing these opponents, his top innings was 29 Scoreless overnight after the second day's play of the third Test against Pakistan in London, Cook was convinced this would be his concluding international appearance ahead of potential omission "There I was in the bar, trying to find the resolution by drowning sorrows," he admits Decisive Instance The 110-run innings guaranteed his seat for the Australian tour The team maintained preparations by winning two and drawing one in practice matches on Australian soil As the opening match began in Brisbane, they were hit by three wickets from Siddle Memorable Collaboration Just before the third day's close, the opening pair started the English reply trailing by 221 runs The score stood at 19-0 by day's end and followed up through a demonstration engraved in cricket memory "My memory doesn't retain the messages, our discussions," says Cook The left-handers added 188 together His unbeaten 235 stood as the best performance from an English player down under for 82 years Complete Control England capitalised on an astonishing first morning in the second match at Adelaide When Anderson also nicked off the Australian batsman, the hosts stood at 2-3 and couldn't recover Cook followed up his Brisbane success by scoring 148 in a Test remembered featuring Pietersen's destruction of the Australian attack Ultimate Victory Victory was possible the Ashes in Perth, only for Mitchell Johnson to indicate the trouble he would cause four years later Then came perhaps England's single greatest day in Ashes history on Australian soil At the MCG, the enormous ground of sports down under, and on Boxing Day, the Australian team were blown away for 98 "If Carlsberg did Boxing Days, this was it. Incredulity reigned at the end of the day," says Cook Ultimate Success Fuelled by the focus to claim victory, the batsman performed brilliantly in Sydney The 189-run innings helped England reach 644, their best score on Australian soil The question was not if England would win the match and the Ashes, rather when "The feeling was unbelievable," says Cook "After Tremlett dismissed Michael Beer to claim triumph, that was a time of pure elation" Historical Significance He earned series honors The following seven seasons of his Test career were illuminated by additional achievements Following his international retirement, Cook was knighted for services to cricket "{I couldn't have played any better|