In reply to Christheclimber:
Cook’s fallow periods occur, but sheer willpower sees him through in the end. cricinfo records his "control %" - i.e. the number of shots off the meat of the bat (or left) as 91%. Out of 409 balls.
Extraordinary effort by a man widely written off. Amazing stamina and concentration. What a legend. And a good team man too, by all accounts.
The old adage of form being temporary but class permanent is well applied here. He's passed Jayawardene, Chanderpaul and Lara in the all time test run scorers during this innings, has passed his previous top score against Australia (and away, too), and as usual looked pretty unflappable - except when he runs when he still looks like Woody out of Toy Story.
I think he's got his name pencilled in for a series or two yet.
b