• ESPN Sports Personality of the Year - No. 10

Alastair Cook: From the Ashes...

Alastair Cook was named Ashes Man of the Series © Getty Images

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The past 12 months of the sporting calendar have thrown up a plethora of memorable performances, including a near-invincible tennis star, a globally-loved golfing success story, and a footballing magician who seems only to need one foot. Leading up to Christmas, ESPN will name its top 10 sports personalities of the year in ascending order... Kicking off proceedings is England cricketer Alastair Cook.

Heading to Australia last year, Alastair Cook faced a fight to justify his place in the England team. A poor run of form and and woeful record against the Aussies prompted many to regard Cook as England's weak link.

But Cook silenced his critics in emphatic fashion, scoring 766 runs in five Tests to help his team become the first England side in 24 years to win the Ashes series Down Under, before playing a key role in their ascent to becoming the No.1 Test team in the world.

In playing a key role in helping England destroy Australia on home soil, the accolades inevitably followed. He was granted Freedom of the City of London, earning the right, amongst other things, to drive sheep and cattle over London Bridge and to carry a naked sword in public. He was also awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Cook played no part in the ODI series Down Under, and despite his form was left out of the World Cup squad in India, a decision Cook criticised as a waste of his form. Despite missing out on the World Cup, Cook's form was recognised when he was appointed England one-day captain in a reshuffle that saw different captains appointed for the three forms of the game.

Cook was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List © PA Photos

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"I've worked hard on my limited-overs cricket in recent times," Cook said at the time. "I've never seen myself as a Test batsman exclusively and I know I have a lot to offer strategically and as a top order batsman in one-day cricket."

Cook made an instant impact as captain, leading England to victory against Sri Lanka before securing a home series victory over world champions India.

Sandwiched in between his captaincy duties, Cook underlined his claim as one of the world's best Test batsmen in the home series against India as England cruised to a 4-0 whitewash to usurp their opponents as the No. 1 Test side in the world.

He narrowly missed out on a triple century in the third Test at Edgbaston, but his score of 294 was the sixth highest score by an English batsman, and the highest for more than a decade.

However, Cook failed to cap off a memorable season, as his side crashed to a 5-0 series reverse in India, but he was rewarded for an outstanding year when he was named named ICC Test cricketer of the year.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.