Cook digs deep for timely ton

ALASTAIR Cook flipped the tables on Steve Smith yesterday to leave an out-of-sorts Australia fighting to pull off their whitewash dream.

Test greats Mitchell Johnson and Kevin Pietersen declared Cook was done and dusted as a Test cricketer, but with the Ashes gone, the former England captain yesterday climbed off the canvas to potentially save his career with an outstanding hundred brought up in the final over of the day.

For England, the train left the platform long ago, but the old enemy can still save themselves the embarrassment of a 5-0 thumping and some long overdue fight has them well positioned to take the Boxing Day Test down to the wire at 2-192 and 135 runs behind.

Everything Smith has touched this summer has turned to gold but when the Australian skipper dropped Cook on 66, England received their first big break in what has been a dismal series.

Not helped by wicketkeeper Tim Paine standing up to the stumps to Mitchell Marsh and partially blocking his sight of the ball, Smith was livid at himself as he muffed a low edge from Cook that went into his hands and out again twice.

Smith then brought himself on to bowl the last over, but Cook (104no) feasted on the opportunity and found the boundary twice on his way to an emotion-charged century – his 32nd in Test cricket.

Australia made a meal of day two in general, collapsing poorly to lose 7-67 before the fast bowling attack was exposed for a distinct lack of firepower as Mitchell Starc watched on injured and Pat Cummins was forced to battle on as a virtual passenger with a bad stomach bug.

Had Smith snaffled Cook, the visitors would have been 3-120, but instead by stumps, England had scrapped their way to a position of power with Joe Root 49 not out and part of an unbeaten hundred-run partnership.

More than perhaps any other batsman in the modern game, Cook is a man who can go large and he will now be eyeing off a massive score on day three.

Cook has looked a shadow of his former self this Ashes and at 33 years of age, it appeared close to curtains for England’s greatest ever runscorer, despite his own determination to play on.

However, Cook returned to his terrific best at the MCG and despite the one chance he offered to Smith, the old war horse looked unbreakable in defence.

The unbeaten partnership between Cook and his successor Root was a class performance, particularly after James Vince gave England their second red-face moment of the match – the No.3 deciding not to review an lbw decision, even though snicko showed he had edged the ball before it hit his pad.

The moment summed up England’s series and left them precariously placed at 2-80, but from there Cook and Root took control.

Australia’s bowlers struggled mightily for answers, with Cummins heavily restricted in the amount of overs he could bowl – and the velocity at which he could charge in – as he visibly struggled with illness in the debilitating Melbourne heat.

Jackson Bird was also lacklustre in his long-awaited Test return.

Nathan Lyon got Australia into the action early when he pulled off his second stunning caught-and-bowled of the summer, to get rid of Mark Stoneman with a freakish onehanded grab for 15.

Josh Hazlewood got the wicket of Vince for 17 with a superb piece of bowling.

However, it was a bizarre passage of play with the umpire unusually quick to raise the finger considering there were two noises, and then the batsman oblivious to the nick he got on the ball before it cannoned into his pads.