Mind Games - Sir Alastair Cook on when he thought he 'was gone' as England player

Cricket is perhaps even more of a mental game than a technical one.

It was a facet that Charles Colvile investigated in depth a couple of summers ago in our Mind Games series as he chatted with the likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Darren Gough, investigating mental health in sport and what it means to be mentally tough.

• Episode One - Mind Games
• Episode Two - Good Enough?
• Episode Three - The Hard Yards
• Episode Four - The Next Frontier

During Mental Health Awareness Week, we have republished each episode of the series on skysports.com and have now reached the fifth and final part - a special edition with Sir Alastair Cook, England's all-time leading Test run scorer.

Watch in the video at the top of the page.

Cook candidly reveals the moment he thought he was "gone" as an England player - before he scored a potentially career-saving ton against Pakistan at The Oval in 2010 - and how he never stopped questioning himself despite all he achieved in the Test arena.

The opener tells Charles how being a choir boy when he was young instilled a discipline and ability to perform under pressure that he took into cricket and how he rarely felt overawed in Test matches.

Cook also details the benefits he felt working with a sports psychologist, writing things down ahead of a crucial game, tweaking his technique, and retaining a high level of physical fitness.

Finally, does Cook consider himself a mentally-tough cricketer?