Pressure Cooked

England opener Alastair Cook knows he has a personal point to prove heading into the Ashes on Thursday,with the statistics showing all too clearly the problems he has had against Australia’s bowlers. Despite a gutsy century in the third Test of the 2006-07 series,the 25-year-old left-hander boasts a paltry average of 26.21 in 10 Ashes Tests against the Australians.

“It’s obviously something that I’ve got to prove to people,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “You can’t hide behind the fact of that statistic,and hopefully over the next two months I can prove people wrong on that.”

Cook has had an up-and-down year,leading England to a 2-0 series victory over Bangladesh when his opening partner Andrew Strauss took a break but then hitting a barren spell. England stuck with him and were rewarded with an uncharacteristically aggressive century in the third Test against Pakistan. Having proved the doubters wrong once this year,Cook is happy to go under the microscope again in the tricky Australian conditions.

Settled and confident,England are reckoned to have a good chance of ending the 24-year wait for an Ashes triumph in Australia.