Alastair Cook was left with feelings of relief and frustration after his unbeaten century on the second day in Melbourne – the 32nd of his Test career – had ended a personal drought with the bat but came with the Ashes already in Australian hands.
The former England captain had averaged 13 in the series up to this point, giving rise to questions about how long the left-hander’s 151-Test career might continue beyond the current tour, despite having only turned 33 on Christmas Day.
But in reaching close of play on day two at 104 not out – bringing up three figures in the final over when smashing a Steve Smith long-hop to the rope – he ended a career-worst run of 11 innings without a score of 50 or more and capped the best day of a disappointing campaign for Joe Root’s side.
“It was an amazing moment personally after my well-documented struggles,” said Cook, who had registered his seventh Ashes century and a first since his bumper 2010-11 series. “It’s frustrating it has come after the series is done, which hurts me even more in one sense, but there is a relief that when it got really tough I managed to dig in and score some runs.”
Cook was not the only senior member of the England side to prove a point. Stuart Broad followed figures of none for 142 in Perth – when the Ashes were lost – with four for 51 on the second morning as Australia collapsed to 327 all out, losing their final seven wickets for 67. Cook and Root, 49 not out, then led the side to 192 for two by stumps.
Broad insisted after play that international cricketers are always playing for their places by the very nature of their profession. It was something Cook concurred with when speaking to ECB TV before the third day, revealing his mindset as he went on to become the first England batsman to score centuries at the five major Australian grounds. Cook said: “When you’re averaging [13] there is no point in dying wondering – what is the worst that can happen? You can get a low score and get left out, I suppose. But it’s amazing what can then happen; you get more crisp footwork, more intent and suddenly you get away.
“You can forget that when batting, the first 30 minutes can feel like the longest time, then the next minute you’ve been batting for four hours. It’s a strange sport and probably why it drives you mad.
“You never – apart from [Australia’s captain] Steve Smith – cruise through a career and just keep scoring runs. There are times when it is tough because you are playing the best cricketers in the world constantly under some pressure and some days it is their day. When I went to bed I was proud because a couple of times in my career I have been questioned and been able to respond with some runs.
“There’s a huge amount to play for because you are playing an Ashes series – we don’t want to go down 5-0 again.”
On his own struggles, Broad added: “It was one of those weeks where you get your tin hat on and duck down. You have to go to that place as a sportsman, find something within yourself, get support from people around you and build yourself back up.
“I was not as competitive as I should have been in Perth. I wanted to improve that. At the Waca I fell into the trap of looking to not to concede runs, instead of looking to take wickets. It’s a small mental change but quite a big thing for me as a cricketer. I’ve run in well here thinking about how I would get batsmen out.”
