Richard Dawson, the former England and Yorkshire off-spinner writes exclusively for The Northern Echo.

IT WAS a great effort from Alastair Cook to grind out his first Ashes century and I'm sure that won't be the last.

But it was a hammer blow to England's fightback when he fell less than three overs before the end.

He had battled for almost seven hours against some top-class bowling and fielding from the Aussies before Glenn McGrath got him with a good ball.

He found it hard going in the afternoon session when he was struggling to score against Shane Warne and the sledging was cranked up.

But he got through it when Kevin Pietersen took the pressure off and thoroughly deserved the century.

To have scored four Test centuries when your 21 is an unbelievable effort and he's already a permanent fixture in the side.

People were starting to question his technique after a couple of loose shots in Adelaide but he's responded in exactly the right way.

I went on an A tour with Cookie a couple of years ago and he's so laid back that nothing really fazes him.

He's very bright and it's easy to see why people have tipped him to become a future captain - he's very similar to Michael Vaughan.

It's just a shame Ian Bell couldn't go on and also get his first Ashes century.

He batted beautifully in the morning session and wasn't bullied by the Aussie attack.

He's copped a lot of flak off the bowlers in this series, particularly Warne, but he responded brilliantly in this innings.

He hit Warne's first ball over the top and hit two sixes off him when he moved through the gears.

He hadn't given a chance all day until he drove loosely and Justin Langer held on to a good catch.

That was a big wicket because Cook and Bell were frustrating the Aussies and forcing them to try different things.

That's what Freddie and KP need to have done today in the first session. If they can get through that England could start to think about winning.

It's down to those two and Geraint Jones. Jones has had a lot of stick again but if he steps up to the mark here with one of the other two recognised batsmen it could be a defining moment in his Test career.