Alastair Cook leads England's Ashes fightback

Cook leads England's Ashes fightback
© SilverHub
Alastair Cook reaches a century to put England in control of the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne.

Alastair Cook ended the day on an unbeaten 104 as England's reply got off to a strong start in the fourth Ashes Test against Australia in Melbourne.

Starting the day on 244-3, the hosts suffered an unexpected collapse in the morning session, with Tom Curran claiming his first Test wicket - the valuable scalp of Steve Smith (76).

From there on, wicket after wicket fell, with Stuart Broad taking 4-51, as the Aussies lost their last seven wickets for just 67 runs to go all out for 327.

Mark Stoneman (15) and James Vince (17) were early casualties in England's reply, but the third-wicket partnership of skipper Joe Root and predecessor Cook helped put the visitors in full control by the close of play.

Root contributed 49 to the tally, while Cook's 104 off 166 balls marked his first Ashes century in seven years and took England to 192-2, trailing by 135 runs.

Joe Root in action for England in July 2016
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