No. 2: Alastair Cook

"He is a dogged player, not flamboyant but once he's in, he's very hard to get out. He's had a very good career with over a 100 Tests and also captained England. His best attribute is his temperament as he is unflappable at the crease"

Stats

OVERALL: Matches 114 Innings 204 Runs 9000 Average 46.87 100s/50s 27/42
ASHES: Matches 25 Innings 46 Runs 1787 Average 39.71 100s/50s 4/9

Best performance

235 not out in Brisbane, 2010
England had regained the Ashes at home, but their previous visit to Australia in 2006-07 had been a 5-0 whitewash. And it wasn't looking good after Australia took a 221-run first-innings lead. But nothing would been more deflating for the hosts than Cook's 10-and-a-half hour stay at the crease, racking up 235 and combining with Andrew Strauss and Jonathon Trott to pile up 517 for 1 declared to help his side draw the Test and get the psychological advantage. Cook went past Don Bradman's 226 to record the highest score at the Gabba, and scored a total of 302 runs in the Test.

Trivia

Cook's eventual score of 235 not out in Brisbane was nearly nine times his previous average in Tests against Australia.

*Numbers as on July 7, 2015