'he can play shots nobody else can'

It was one of those weeks when everything went our way and the lads played some extremely good cricket, especially on the last day when it was extremely cold and we kept bowling and fielding well. It was a very good team performance and there were also some great individual efforts.

Listen to Alastair Cook’s 2nd Test review

Listen to Alastair Cook on Kevin Pietersen’s double century

Obviously, Vaughney's hundred was very special on his comeback at his home ground under the pressure he was under and KP showed his genius with a truly fantastic knock. You watch him play and realise that he can play shots nobody else can and no praise from me can do justice to just how good that innings was. It was faultless.

I chipped in with 42 and I'm disappointed to have got out one ball before lunch having done the hard work in the morning session. But that's cricket! You make one mistake and you can pay the price. I'm still pleased with my form; I've been hitting the ball really well this summer and we're delighted with the win. I also managed to take a nice sharp catch in their second innings after Belly went off injured and I was put in the gully. It's sometimes nice to get out of 'boot hill' (short leg) but I probably would rather of been there on the last day with the extra padding and clothing on because it was so cold! Unbelievably, some of the crowd were out there in t-shirts!

Special mention must also go to Ryan Sidebottom. If you ask people on the county circuit, he's one of the hardest bowlers to face when the ball's doing a bit and he bowled beautifully. You saw the delight when he got his first wicket and then he went on to get eight more! It was fantastic the way he bowled and it was good again to see someone able to come in and produce an almost match winning performance.

Ryan Sidebottom

Matt Prior's another to have done nothing wrong since coming in. He's only dropped one tricky catch and to have a stroke player come in and bat the way he does at number seven is a real bonus. He's a seriously good player.

Everyone's playing really well at the moment and with Freddie and Hoggy to come back, Mooresey's got some nice selection headaches to ponder. Whoever misses out will be desperately unlucky because you can't fault the performance of any of the lads. But that's out of my control and Mooresey would rather have those options than not.

Next up it's Old Trafford and it's always nice to go to a ground you've played well at before, as was the case at Lords. I got 127 against Pakistan last summer and I've always tended to do well there. I've got a couple of days off now to rest and re-charge with some light training, gym work, nets and a game against Surrey on Sunday. By the time we arrive at Old Trafford, hopefully we can continue where we left off last week and hopefully win the series there.

Alastair Cook.

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30th May, 2007