Five best moments from Alastair Cook's captaincy

#5 Shaking South Africa from the top

Under Cook’s leadership, England reached the summit of the Test rankings

A series win against the No. 1 side in the world gave Cook immense pride and the feat coming away from home, made it all the more interesting. The visitors sealed a 241-run win in the first Test match that was hit by bad light and rain, and went on to draw a high scoring 2^nd Test, which saw both the teams score well over 600.

A century from Joe Root and a 6-wicket haul from Stuart Broad derailed South Africa’s effort, and the visitors claimed a seven wicket win to take a 2-0 lead in the 4-match series. Kagiso Rabada’s 13-wicket haul did produce a win for the Proteas, but it was Cook’s men who took home the trophy and in the process, uncrowned the home side from the top spot.

It was also England’s first series win away from home under Cook’s leadership since 2012.