🔗 Share this article The Legend of 766 - Cook's Dominance of Down Under Alastair Cook's record-breaking 766 from an English player on an Ashes tour ranks second only to cricket legend Wally Hammond Chief Cricket Reporter in Brisbane Published 45 minutes ago Brisbane hasn't been a city to give the Three Lions crucial confidence in the series Following the loss to the Australian side at the series start, the visiting team need to regroup before heading to the Gabba, a ground where England have not won for decades English cricketers have frequently been outmatched opponents at this challenging venue A Shining Knight's Achievement Within recent memory of dashed English dreams, aspirations and players exists a motivational tale achieved by a cricket hero Today commemorates 15 years since the legendary Cook conquered the Gabba via a landmark 235 without loss, saving the first Test during that famous series establishing England's trajectory toward their sole series victory down under in the past 38 years Record-Breaking Performance It commenced of the victorious tour of Australia; three hundreds and 766 runs The legendary Hammond is the only Englishman to score more runs throughout a campaign in this country Victory came 3-1, with all victories by an innings The team hasn't secured a Test victory there since those glory days Cook's Memories "People overlook the tough times, the nervousness and anxiety involved in that achievement," Cook remembers "I reflect proudly. I played a significant part in a tournament that saw England triumphed 3-1 in Australia and all three games came through innings wins" The Road to Greatness The path to his Australian epic began 18 months earlier following the 2009 Ashes in the UK Despite English victory, the opening batsman had an average below 25 with just one score above 50 He sought improvement "Despite cricket's collective nature, personal performance does make you feel that personal responsibility matters," he states Game Improvement Shortly after the victory celebrations, he returned hitting hundreds and hundreds of balls in the nets under Graham Gooch's guidance Beginning performances showed promise He scored three hundreds during winter tours to South Africa and Bangladesh Pivotal Instances Upon his return to England for that year's summer, the left-hander had a "stinker" In eight innings facing these opponents, his best performance was 29 On nought not out following the second day during the final Test versus Pakistan at The Oval, the batsman felt certain it might be his concluding international appearance ahead of potential omission "I was sitting in the bar, attempting to discover the solution in the bottom of a beer bottle," he admits The Turning Point Cook's 110 guaranteed his seat in the squad down under Preparation continued by winning two and drawing one during preparatory contests down under As the opening match began at the Gabba, they encountered Peter Siddle's hat-trick Memorable Collaboration Just before the end of the third day, the opening pair opened England's second innings needing to overcome 221 runs They reached 19-0 when play concluded and proceeded with an exhibition remembered in Ashes history "My memory doesn't retain any instructions, our conversations," Cook remembers The left-handers accumulated 188 runs together Cook's 235 not out was the highest score by an Englishman in Australia in eight decades Complete Control England capitalised on an astonishing first morning in the second match in Adelaide After Anderson also dismissed the Australian batsman, the score read 2-3 and never recovered The batsman proceeded his Brisbane success through a 148-run innings in a famous match featuring Pietersen's destruction of the Australian attack The Final Triumph Victory was possible the series in Western Australia, only for Mitchell Johnson to foreshadow the havoc he would cause four years later What followed was perhaps England's single greatest day during Ashes competition in Australia At the MCG, the enormous ground of sports down under, on the holiday, the hosts were blown away for 98 "For ideal Boxing Days, it was that. Amazement prevailed when play concluded," says Cook Ultimate Success Motivated by purpose to win the urn, Cook excelled once more at the SCG His score of 189 contributed to England's 644, their record innings during Australian Tests The uncertainty wasn't if England would win both match and urn, but the timing "The environment was electric," says Cook "After Tremlett dismissed Michael Beer to claim triumph, it represented an instant of absolute joy" Historical Significance The batsman received top accolades The remaining seven years of his cricket journey featured other milestones Post-cricket career, he received a knighthood for cricket contributions "{I couldn't have played any better|