Marathon Cook double-ton puts England in command

Alastair Cook reeled off a record-breaking double century to put England in full command of the fourth Ashes Test with a formidable 164-run innings lead in Melbourne on Thursday(December 28).

The stoic opener emphatically bounced back after a lean run of scores to finish the third day unconquered on 244 off 409 balls. At the close, England were 491 for 9.

Along the way, Cook surpassed the highest score by a visiting batsman in a Test match at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground, bettering the 208 by West Indian great Viv Richards in 1984.

He earlier bettered Wally Hammond’s 200 set back in 1928 as the highest Test score at the MCG by an Englishman.

Cook’s fifth double-century in 151 Test matches also catapulted him above Brian Lara to become the sixth highest run-getter in Test cricket with 11,956.