The former English captain Alastair Cook is an absolute stalwart in English cricket and his contribution is undoubtedly remarkable. He has a huge stature in English cricket because of the performances that he delivered throughout the course of his career. In this article, we will take a look at Alastair Cook’s top 3 innings in Test cricket.
294 vs India, 2011
Excelling against India was a major part of Alastair Cook’s legend. He played some of his best cricket against the Men in Blue. This innings that he played against India at Birmingham in 2011 is his best performance in Test cricket. He played this knock in the 3rd test of the series between the two teams and Cook emerged as the highest run-scorer in this contest. In reply to India’s 224 in the first innings, Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss built a phenomenal opening partnership. Cook continued to trouble the Indian bowlers even after his skipper was gone and he ended up with 294 runs in the first innings. His double century helped England in posting 710 runs in the first innings and the hosts took a massive lead.
263 vs Pakistan, 2015
For batters from SENA countries, it is a tough job to perform in subcontinent conditions but Cook was an exception. This is another double century that speaks volumes of his caliber as a Test batter. Pakistan had put up 523 runs in the first innings and England needed a strong response to stay in the contest. Captain Alastair Cook stepped and smashed a brilliant double ton that got England in an advantageous position. The match ended in a draw and he was adjudged as the player of the match for his sublime batting display.
244* vs Australia, 2017
An Ashes unbeaten double ton in Australia, now that’s some batting effort. Alastair Cook made one of his 5 test double centuries in Australia in the Boxing Day test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Once again, he played an exemplary knock in the first innings, in response to the opposition’s total. With this double ton in the match, Alastair Cook helped England register a giant lead which caused the match to end in a stalemate. The former English skipper would probably put this performance at the top of the ladder considering the opposition and occasion.