COOK STILL A CLASS APART

THE pitch was flat, there was no Mitchell Starc and the series was over. It is very easy to place a number of asterisks against Alastair Cook’s 244 not out in Melbourne. Yet there was a dead pitch, a dead rubber and no Starc for England’s other opener, Mark Stoneman, too — and he made 15. Joe Root failed to convert a half century into three figures, again. James Vince was so short of mental clarity that he failed to refer an lbw decision when replays revealed he had hit the ball. So, let’s not pretend everyone thrived with the pressure off as Cook (left) did. The fact remains there is not another English batsman who looks capable of staying in for 244 runs right now, regardless of conditions or opposition. And that is why, no matter his form going into these final Ashes Tests, there was no option other than persevering with Cook. In this team, he remains in a class of his own.