200th England Test on Sky Sports: vote for your favourite England double ton
Collingwood, Pietersen, Trott, Cook, Bell, Root... who are you going for?
Last Updated: 12/08/14 5:18pm
This week’s fifth Test at the Oval is the 200th live England Test match to be shown on Sky Sports.
To celebrate, we’re looking back at the 10 most recent double hundreds scored by English players and we want you to pick your favourite by voting in our poll at the bottom of the page.
Kevin Pietersen leads the list, having accomplished the feat three times, while Jonathan Trott and Alastair Cook have both passed 200 on two occasions.
The current England skipper notched the highest total of the lot – a magnificent knock of 294 against India at Edgbaston in 2011 – while Joe Root scored the most recent at Lord’s against Sri Lanka earlier this summer. So refresh your memory with our handy guide and then pick your best. Happy voting!
Paul Collingwood, 206, Aus v Eng, 2006, Adelaide
Collingwood compiled his score off 392 balls as England, who had lost the first Test in Brisbane, batted first and made 551-6 declared. The knock – containing 16 fours and lasting a mammoth 515 minutes - was the first double century by an English batsman in Australia for 78 years, and represented a career-best. His fourth-wicket partnership of 310 with Kevin Pietersen, who went on to score 158, was also an English record against Australia.
However, the hosts posted 513 in reply and then whittled England out for just 129 in their second innings. Australia then knocked off 168-4 to secure the amazing win which saw another record fall – with the English first innings score becoming the largest ever set by a team batting first and declaring only to then lose the match.
After such a body blow, the tourists went on to suffer a 5-0 ‘whitewash’ - the first time this had happened in an Ashes series since 1920–21.
Kevin Pietersen, 226, Eng v WI: 2007, Headingley
Pietersen notched his highest Test score to that date to leave England in total command of the second Test, declaring on 570-7. Batting at No 4, Pietersen needed just 262 balls, hitting 24 fours and two sixes in an innings lasting 432 minutes.
England then bowled out the tourists for 146 and enforced the follow on, with West Indies scoring just 141 in their second attempt to leave the hosts victorious by an innings and 283 runs.
Following a first Test draw, this got Michael Vaughan’s side off the mark and they pushed on to win the four-match series 3-0.
Jonathan Trott, 226, Eng v Bangladesh: 2010, Lord’s
Trott hit the same score as Pietersen at Headquarters against Bangladesh in 2010 – which remains his career-best to date.
Trott spent 490 minutes at the crease, facing 349 balls and hitting 20 fours as he helped his side reach 505 in their first innings.
Bangladesh posted 282 in reply and then notched 382 when following on, but Trott was unbeaten with Pietersen at the crease as England finished on 163-2 to win by eight wickets.
Andrew Strauss’ side were even more emphatic in the second and last Test - winning by an innings and 80 runs to take the series.
Alastair Cook, 235no, Aus v Eng: 2010, Brisbane
In what was to end as 'Cook's Ashes' the England opener, who arrived Down Under with doubts lingering over his place at the top of the order after a torrid summer in England, made a dream start to the series.
After making a dogged 67 in England's first-innings, Cook defied Australia for almost 10-and-a-half hours in a record-breaking unbeaten 235 which ultimately helped England salvage a draw.
His record unbroken 329-run partnership with Trott left all inside the Gabba in disbelief as the scoreboard read 517-1 and Cook's knock remains the highest score by an Englishman at the Brisbane venue, as well as a then career-best.
Cook faced an incredible 428 deliveries, surpassing the great Sir Don Bradman's record score at the ground.
Kevin Pietersen, 227, Aus v Eng: 2010, Adelaide
After sitting with his pads on for what must have seemed an eternity in Brisbane, Pietersen grabbed his moment in the limelight with a sparkling double century in the second Test at Adelaide.
Replying to Australia's first-innings 245 all out, Pietersen shared a 175-run partnership with captain Cook, who himself made 148, as England racked up 620-5 declared.
In swelteringly hot conditions, Pietersen flayed the depleted Australia bowlers to all parts of the Adelaide venue, cracking 33 boundaries and one six to put England in total control.
His knock that day remains a career-best and England went on to win the Test by an innings and 71 runs before crushing Australia in Sydney by an innings and 83 runs to secure an historic 3-1 series win - the first time England had won the Ashes in Australia for 24 years.
Jonathan Trott, 203, Eng v SL: 2011, Cardiff
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Trott produced an innings of extraordinary concentration to help win a rain-affected first Test at Cardiff.
Resuming on an overnight 125, Trott went on to post 203 off 409 balls before he was finally bowled by Tillakaratne Dilshan just before the close on day four.
It was England's highest individual Test score against Sri Lanka as the side declared on 496-5 in reply to Sri Lanka's first-innings 400.
The hosts then pulled off a final-day mugging, bowling out Sri Lanka for 82 in 24.4 overs on day five to win by an innings and 14 runs - an advantage they turned into a 1-0 series win thanks to draws in the remaining two Tests.
Kevin Pietersen, 202no, Eng v Ind, 2011, Lord’s
The 2,000th Test match was thought sure to be Sachin Tendulkar's last at Lord's, and in many minds was supposed to be all about 'the Little Master'.
But it was Pietersen who stole centre stage as he helped England to victory by 196 runs in the first Test.
His first hundred runs were scratchy, the rest sublime and collaterally they were the difference between the two sides.
The match set the tone for a 4-0 series whitewash as England dethroned India to go to the top of the world rankings for the first time.
Alastair Cook, 294, Eng v India: 2011, Edgbaston
Cook notched his highest first class score to date in the third Test as England won by an innings and 242 runs.
His innings was a triumph of concentration, hitting 33 fours off 545 balls as he remained at the crease for an incredible 773 minutes.
It was the highest score by a batsman at Edgbaston – beating Peter May's 285 against West Indies in 1957 – and is the sixth highest ever by an English Test batsman.
It helped the hosts reach 710-7 declared in reply to 224, before the tourists were whittled out for 244 to seal the win.
Ian Bell, 235, England v India: 2011, Oval
Bell reached his one and only Test double ton to date in the same series, notching 235 in the final Test at the Oval, which surpassed his previous high of 199.
Together with Pietersen, he put the visiting attack to the sword, with the duo sharing a partnership worth 250 for the third wicket in the home team’s first innings.
Eventually both fell to the part-time spin of Suresh Raina, though by that stage Bell had cracked two sixes and 23 fours to help England reach 591-6 declared, a total which India could not surpass.
Recalling the knock, Bell said: “I would probably say that’s the most fluent I’ve ever played from start to finish. I came into that Test match with a hundred at Trent Bridge and it was probably the nicest innings on the eye.
“We won the match and became the No 1 Test team in the world, which for that team at that time was our goal. Having won that game we managed to do that, so that will always be a special one as well.”
Joe Root, 200no, Eng v SL: 2014, Lord’s
Root was the latest English batsman to reach 200 with a superb knock earlier this summer – his maiden Test double-century.
The Yorkshireman remained at the crease for 500 minutes and faced 298 balls with 16 fours as he ground his way to the milestone.
His effort helped England reach 575-9 declared but the hosts eventually fell one wicket short of taking a series lead after running out of time on the final day, with Sri Lanka reaching stumps on 201-9.
Worse was to follow as the tourists won the next Test by 100 runs to pull-off a first-ever series win in England.
See if England can add to this list when the fifth and final Test between England and India gets underway from 10am on Friday on Sky Sports 2.
