5. Retains the urn in 2015
Cook’s biggest Test as skipper came in the same year when he first won the Ashes glory. He has won two Ashes series as captain and only lost one, but despite this better overall record he has lost more matches thanks to the 5-0 thrashing in Australia in 2013-14. It was a nightmarish series. The team was brought down to dirt by the raging Mitchell Johnson forcing them to surrender the urn.
Criticism crept in but Cook, despite the pressure, decided to continue as the captain and replied to all by winning it back in 2015. England fought well and won the series win 3-2. Cook, despite struggling on occasion contributed 330 runs in 9 innings. But, the series was obviously above his personal achievement which he expressed in an emotional post-match interview.