Days two and three of the final Test couldn't have gone better, especially for Cook and, later, Bell. England have reached the ominous total of 488-7, a 208 lead at stumps. Strauss got England nicely into the groove with a very un-Strauss-like innings of 60 off of 58 balls. He went storming out of the blocks like a man possessed and had chalked up a very impressive score in no time at all. Twas a shame when he edged inside to hit his own stumps but the Captain definitely made a statement. Cook, scoring a lot more slowly than Strauss, took over the mantel and made steady progress as he saw Trott (0), Pieterson (36), Anderson - the Night Watchman (7), and Collingwood (13 - his last Test perhaps?) come and go. When Bell arrived, Cook was in desperate need of a long-term partner, and England were in need of a fair few more runs. Bell stepped up to the challenge. Together they put on 154 before Cook edged a drive to gully off Watson for 189.
Cook has now made 766 runs this Series, second only to Wally Hammond's 905 in the 1928/29 Ashes series. He's surpassed the likes of Geoffrey Boycott and Graham Gooch to become England's second highest run scorer in a single Ashes series. He's spent a record breaking 36 hours at the crease this series, which is just completely ridiculous. Not only has Cook smashed all these records, he's also 26, has an awesome name, has beautiful hair and possibly the best jawline in sport. I know, I know, I'm fickle and false - how quickly I've forgotten my Broad - but life is short and we all have to move on. I think Alastair's a better fit for me anyway. I've never really liked blondes...
After Cook went, Prior came on and together with Bell built an impressive 107 runs before Bell was finally despatched for 115. England ended the day on 488-7 and have all but secured at least a draw in Sydney, and therefore a win. YES PLEASE!!
I'll keep you blogged...
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