8. Alastair Cook
During the first Test of 2010-11 Ashes series, England were trailing Australia by 221 runs in their first innings. England were looking down the barrel but a masterpiece from Alastair Cook helped them not only to salvage a draw but also set the tone for the remainder of the series which they went on to win. Cook scored 235 runs as England declared for a mammoth 517. Sharing a partnership of 188 runs with skipper Andrew Strauss, then 329 with Jonathan Trott, Cook batted for an unbelievable 625 minutes to save the game.