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A Gabba earthquake! Alastair Cook’s heroics that stunned Australia cold in Ashes 2010

Poulomi Chakraborty

Alastair Cook's double hundred (Source: @bbctms/x.com)Alastair Cook's double hundred (Source: @bbctms/x.com)

In cricket, winning away is heroic, but delivering a masterclass on enemy soil earns legendary status. As the Ashes has never delivered a dull moment, some of the stars from England and Australia deliver when being out of their comfort zone.

Defeating Australia on their home soil is not easy, but cricket never taught anyone to step back. Some players have risen to the challenge spectacularly, like Alastair Cook, who dominated the Gabba in 2010 and etched his name into Ashes history.

Brisbane has been Australia’s strongest fort, and Cook dared to shake that with his unbeaten double ton. Let’s relive his heroics again.

A measured fifty builds up to a furious onslaught

With every new season of the historic Ashes, fans experienced some unreal thrills as the arch-rivals delivered some unforgettable cricket dramas. Whether the battle of the bests takes place in England or Australia, thrills soar high. But in Australia’s challenging soil, when an English batter crafts a thrilling knock, the entire cricket world pauses 0to hail the heroics.

As the Ashes 2010 took place in Australia, the arch-rivals faced each other at the Gabba in the first Test. Batting first, the English batting lineup crumbled under pressure, but they never lost hope. Standing on a crucial point, Alastair Cook raised his bat on high.

Coming to open the innings, Cook tightened his grip and guided the side to overcome the Aussie storm. Taking on the lethal Australian bowling attack, Cook smashed a half-century in 127 balls, and England got a massive boost. His 67-run knock helped England to put on a total of 260 runs.

Cook’s double century stuns Australia in their own fortress

When England was facing blows in the first innings, Alastair Cook stood like a wall. After they ended their first innings early on Australia eyed a domination, without realising that Cook would emerge again like a storm. Walking out with captain Andrew Strauss in the second innings, Cook unleashed chaos on their own fortress, the Gabba, turning the Aussie nightmare into a masterclass for the ages.

Completing a half-century in just 122 balls, he carried on the domination, smashing a hundred in 204 deliveries. In front of Alastair Cook’s hundred, Aussie bowlers were helpless in front of his ruthless display. Keeping the domination high, Cook smashed 150 runs in 302 balls.

Australia was being humiliated on its own fort; Cook named the day after him. Scoring a spectacular double hundred in 361 balls, he wrote a new script of domination. Unbeaten on a mighty 235 off 428 deliveries with 26 boundaries, Cook’s marathon masterclass powered England to a colossal 517/1 declaration.

In the end, the Gabba, Australia’s proud fortress, belonged to Alastair Cook. Even though the match ended in a draw, Alastair Cook’s heroics at the Gabba wrote a different script of domination. The Aussies’ trusted stronghold was rattled by an English genius, and that unforgettable knock has since become one of the most iconic moments in Ashes history.