Cook, Broad silence critics with stirring return to form

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The Ashes series may be reduced to dead rubbers, but Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad proved their England careers remain very much alive on Wednesday as they helped Joe Root's team dominate Australia on day two at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Coming into the fourth Test with only 83 runs for the series, opening batsman Cook strode off at stumps unbeaten on 104, having driven England to a position of strength at 192 for two.

Veteran paceman Broad earlier finished with 4-51 in another welcome return to form, hastening Australia's first innings dismissal for 327 shortly after lunch.

The pair's revival came too late for England, with the urn surrendered meekly after the third Test in Perth. But it was a case of better late than never for Root's rebuilding team, who need them performing to avoid the trauma of a second successive whitewash in Australia.

There was also satisfaction for the seasoned duo in responding to their critics, some of whom demanded they be axed midway through the series.

"I am not going to hold any grudges or get too disappointed if people slag me off because at the end of the day in 15 years' time I might be doing the same. Not six months," Broad said.

Former captain Cook was already under the microscope before arriving Down Under, with doubts swirling about his motivation to carry on for the long haul.

He struggled through 10 innings without a half-century before his breakthrough on Wednesday, his highest Test score in Australia since a knock of 189 in the final match of the 2010-11 series in Sydney.

"He's not someone who gets particularly fazed or down," Broad said of his team mate's form slump.

"He went through so much stuff with his captaincy I don't think a bit of stick about scoring runs is going to bother him too much."

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