Howzat! Captain Cook’s reward

ENGLAND cricket captain Alastair Cook is rewarded for destroying Australia last summer to regain the Ashes.

After the crushing victory, it was all too much for Cook as he wiped away tears of relief and exhaustion.

Now he is made a CBE for bringing the urn back to England.

Meanwhile his wicket-demolishing teammate Stuart Broad – ranked the world’s third-best bowler – picks up an MBE.

There was also an award for tennis star Jamie Murray, older brother of Andy. While the 29-year- old British No.1 himself did not get a knighthood, as some had called for, Jamie, 30, receives an OBE after the brothers won doubles matches to clinch the Davis Cup for Great Britain last year, the nation’s first success in 79 years.

The Davis Cup team, which went on to win BBC Sports Personality Team of the Year, was captained by Leon Smith, who also receives the OBE.

In football, former England top goalscorer and Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer is upgraded from OBE to CBE for his charity work in the North East, where he set up a centre offering respite care and a sporting academy. Another award goes to Martine Wiltshire, a Team GB sitting volleyball player and Paralympian, who lost both her legs in the London 7/7 bombings.

The 43-year-old said: ‘I believe the power of sport has healed me, and hopefully I am an example of that. But I am not accepting this award just for me. I am going to accept for all those volunteers and all those people that helped put me together, and those that support the power of sport.’

One of the youngest recipients of an award this year is Shauna Coxsey, who gets an MBE for rock climbing.