🔗 Share this article Remembering 766 - When Cook Conquered Australia Alastair Cook's 766 runs from an English player on an Ashes tour ranks second only to cricket legend Wally Hammond Senior Cricket Correspondent reporting from Brisbane Posted recently Brisbane hasn't been a place that offers the English team some much-needed Ashes optimism Following the loss to the hosts at the series start, England have to bounce back ahead of visiting the famous Gabba, a stadium where victory has eluded England since 1986 English cricketers have frequently been outmatched opponents at the Gabbatoir Cook's Memorable Triumph Throughout modern times of broken English hopes, aspirations and players lies an inspirational story provided by a shining knight Today commemorates 15 years since Alastair Cook mastered the Gabba with a career-defining unbeaten 235, saving the first Test of 2010-11 establishing England's trajectory toward their sole series victory in Australia in the past 38 years Historic Achievement It was the beginning of Cook's triumphant tour of Australia; three hundred-plus scores accumulating 766 runs Wally Hammond is the only Englishman with higher run totals throughout a campaign down under The English triumphed 3-1, where each success via comprehensive wins The team hasn't secured a Test victory there since those glory days Personal Reflections "You forget the difficult moments, the apprehension and concern accompanying that success," Cook recalls "I reflect proudly. I made an important impact in a series when England triumphed 3-1 in Australia with every match were won by an innings" Path to Success His journey to his Australian epic commenced well before after that year's Ashes on home soil Despite English victory, the opening batsman averaged less than 25 managing only one innings over fifty He desired better "Despite cricket's collective nature, personal performance does make you feel that personal responsibility matters," he states Game Improvement Just 48 hours following the victory celebrations, he was back at work hitting hundreds and hundreds deliveries in practice alongside Graham Gooch Beginning performances proved positive The batsman achieved three hundreds on the 2009-10 winter tours to South Africa and Bangladesh Crucial Turning Points When Cook returned to home soil for that year's summer, the batsman had a "stinker" During eight batting opportunities versus Bangladesh and Pakistan, his top innings was 29 Scoreless overnight following day two during the final Test versus Pakistan at The Oval, the batsman felt certain he was playing his concluding international appearance prior to selection "I found myself in the hospitality area, trying to find the solution by drowning sorrows," he admits The Turning Point Cook's 110 guaranteed his seat on the plane to Australia England continued their preparations by winning two and drawing one in practice matches down under When the first Test arrived at the famous ground, they were hit by Peter Siddle's hat-trick Record-Breaking Stand An hour before the third day's close, both batsmen started the English reply trailing by 221 runs The score stood at 19-0 at stumps and proceeded with a performance etched in Ashes folklore "I cannot recall the messages, our conversations," Cook remembers Both left-handed batsmen contributed 188 for the first wicket The 235 without dismissal represented the top score by an Englishman down under since the 1930s Complete Control England capitalised on a remarkable opening session during the following Test at Adelaide Following Anderson's additional wicket the Australian batsman, the hosts stood at 2-3 and never recovered The batsman proceeded his Queensland achievement with 148 in a famous match highlighting Pietersen's dominance over the Australian bowling Series Conclusion The English might have secured the urn in Perth, however Johnson to preview the destruction from future encounters What followed was arguably England's best performance of Ashes cricket on Australian soil At the MCG, the massive stadium of Australian sport, on the holiday, the home side were dismissed for 98 "If Carlsberg did Boxing Days, it was that. There was disbelief when play concluded," Cook remembers The Final Victory Motivated by purpose to win the urn, Cook excelled once more at the Sydney Cricket Ground His 189 contributed to England's 644, their record innings in a Test in Australia The question was not if England would win the match and the Ashes, but the timing "The feeling was unbelievable," says Cook "Following Tremlett's wicket of the final batsman to secure victory, it represented an instant of absolute joy" Enduring Impact The batsman received top accolades The following seven seasons of his Test career were illuminated by other milestones Post-cricket career, he was honored for sporting achievements "{I couldn't have played any better|