Ashes 2017 - 18: Alastair Cook feels sorry for Brian Lara

Alastair Cook rued that his form returned too late.

Alastair Cook celebrates his double ton at The MCG | Getty Images

Veteran England batsman Alastair Cook, who had been struggling to find his form with the bat so far in the ongoing Ashes series, finally made a stunning return to the prestigious Test series against Australia with his sizzling unbeaten knock of 244 to help his team to post 491/9 at stumps on day three of the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

With the help of Cook’s fantastic knock, England took a first-innings lead of 164 against the hosts at The MCG, but the star Test batsman rued that his form returned too late, as Australia already retained the Ashes title with their Perth victory, but quenched out their hopes of whitewashing the Ashes series.

As per Reuters, Cook told reporters, “After all the emotion came out yesterday to get a real big one for the team was really important. I've doubted myself for 12 years and I'll probably continue to doubt myself but obviously the longer it goes the harder it becomes.”

The 33-year-old further added, “But I suppose that's why I can be quite proud... Going to the well again and delivering a performance like that was pleasing. It's just a shame it's three-four weeks too late, I'll have to live with that for a long time but it's nice to score a few.”

In his unbeaten knock of 244, Cook faced 409 deliveries, surpassed West Indies batting great Viv Richards's 208 and became the first touring batsman to post the highest score at the MCG.

With the knock, Cook, who now has 11,956 Test runs, also shattered two West Indies greats Shivnarine Chanderpaul (11,867) and then Brian Lara (11,953)in the list of top run-getters in Test cricket and is now only behind the Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar. 

On the feat, Cook said, “I can't really explain that. I just feel sorry for Brian Lara. It's a special moment to see your name up there.”

He concluded by saying, “Obviously with my batting over a period of time, there are quite a few moving parts to it. When they're not quite in synch it can be quite frustrating. Basically, the one way of delivering is the time in the middle. I played quite nicely yesterday, I got to 40 and I kind of felt like the old movements were back. They probably weren't that different to where they were in the other games... If I could put my finger on exactly what it is, it could save me a lot of strife.”

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 28 Dec, 2017

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