BRISBANE – Alastair Cook scored an unbeaten 235 and shared a 329-run partnership with Jonathan Trott to highlight an emphatic England second innings as the first Ashes Test against Australia ended in a draw yesterday. Set an unlikely 297 runs to win after England declared at 517-1 shortly before tea on the final day, Australia reached 107-1 in reply with captain Ricky Ponting not out on 51 and Shane Watson on 41. Simon Katich (4) was the lone batsman to be dismissed yesterday, nicking Stuart Broad to Andrew Strauss at first slip in the sixth over of Australia's reply. Cook's man of the match-winning knock was the highest ever tTest score at the Gabba ground, surpassing Donald Brahman's 226 in 1931. Trott left the crease on 135 not out, his second Ashes century in two Tests.
"I'm not great on my cricketing history but I'd be hard-pressed to think of a better innings in Australia," Strauss said. "It must have been a long time ago, the last guy who batted as well as Cookie." Cook's innings, his highest Test score, saw him become just the fourth Englishman to score a double hundred in Australia, following RE Foster, Wally Hammond and Paul Collingwood.
Cook and Trott's second-wicket stand was the highest England partnership in Australia, surpassing Jack Hobbs' and Wilfred Rhodes' 323 in 1912. The Test only briefly appeared likely to end with a result on a pitch that got better for batting as the match went on and saw Australia's Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin score centuries on the third day, and England captain Strauss pass 100 on Sunday.
After a first innings of 481 that left it 221 runs ahead, Australia failed to capitalise and could manage just one wicket from 152 overs of England's second innings. Strauss said things had looked "quite bleak" for England halfway through the match, before the batting heroics in the second innings. "The resilience to come back into the game, having been in a pretty dire position after day three, speaks volumes for the characters of the likes of Cookie and Trotty, and we've proved over a while now that we're a hard side to beat and that gives us more confidence going forward." The only worry for England going into the second Test may come from talismanic spinner Graeme Swann, who ended the game with figures of 2-161. (AP)