Alastair Cook has seen a lot of ups and downs as a batsman and as a captain in test match Cricket in the last one year or so.
He was on the verge of losing his captaincy when England lost the Lord’s test against India.

His test career was also hanging by a thread as he had not been making contributions to justify his place in the team as an opener.

But, then, some good knocks followed. England won a few games, lost a couple too, but, overall, he did well enough to be able to stay at the helm for another Ashes series.

This is the third time now that Cook is going to captain England in an Ashes series.

His first two Ashes series as captain were absolute roller coaster. While, his team won 3-0 at home, only months later, they found themselves getting absolutely smashed on the bouncy pitches down under.

Cook would not have forgotten even the slightest bit of that annihilation. He knows there is a great chance for him and his boys to avenge that.

If he does that, he would not only be able to secure his position as test captain for a little while, he would show the World that England is still quite a force in home conditions as far as red ball Cricket is concerned.

And, Cook has the team to beat Australia this time around.
The impact players like Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid have injected that firepower in the English line up which they perhaps lacked in Australia.

But, a lot depends on how Cook leads them. He will have to take on the aggression of Australia with aggression. He will have to be up for the fight. His holding back attitude will probably not help.