Alastair Cook: Starting Out – My Story So Far: The early career of England’s highest scoring batsman

Alastair Cook was born in Gloucester in 1984. He scored his maiden first-class hundred, against Leicestershire at Chelmsford in 2004. In 2005 he scored a double-century for Essex against the touring Australians, as a result of which he was voted Young Cricketer of the Year by the Cricket Writers' Club. After scoring a century on his England debut he continued to shine on th the international stage, with consecutive centuries against Pakistan in 2006 cementing his place in the side for the Ashes. He was named Young Cricketer of the Year for the second time in 2006. In 2009, Alastair was part of the squad which reclaimed the Ashes.