Alastair Cook's journey from colts cricket to the Ashes

From colts cricket at Maldon Cricket Club in Essex to leading England in the Ashes, BBC Sport looks at Alastair Cook's career.

It has been a meteoric rise for the Essex batsman, but for the people who saw him at a young age, his status as one of the best players in the world comes as no surprise.

On Wednesday he leads out his country in defence of the Ashes against Australia and will be looking to add to his England record of 25 Test centuries.