The incident took place after Cook had carried his bat, scoring 244 – his fifth and final Test double century – in the first innings of the fourth 2017/18 Ashes Test in Melbourne. His knock helped England draw the Test, a mere consolation in a series they lost 4-0, but holds a special place in the hearts of England fans and Cook himself. The opener came into the game with three single-figure scores and a high score of 37 in the series so far, and left with the highest innings by a visiting batsman at the MCG.

“I really struggled on that tour for form, and for whatever reason, and it’s sad that it happened when we’d already lost the series, but for those two days I batted, I batted as well as I could possibly bat,” Cook said. “And getting the hundred the night before in the last over was very special. I did cry, I cried when I got into the changing, more out of relief. I’ve never done that before. I’m a pretty unemotional guy about a lot of things. I couldn’t control myself, and the next day I batted as well as I could bat.

“Looking back now, you don’t appreciate at the time the noise of the Barmy Army. My wife and my children were in Bay 13, where the Barmy Army were singing all day, and they’ve got amazing videos of that day, Elsie and Isabelle on Alice’s shoulders with the other wives and girlfriends there, just having a hell of a time. Looking back, you see Stuart Broad jump up as I hit that on-drive for four, and you see everyone in the Barmy Army jump up, I don’t remember that innings but I remember that noise which was very very special, an incredible 48 hours.”

After the monumental knock, he was greeted to a rendition of the Barmy Army’s ‘Ali Cook’ song by his daughter. That chant, an adaptation of KC and the Sunshine Band’s Give It Up, is appropriate for all ages. Bairstow’s song, which she then started singing, is more PG-13.

“She did (sing the Ali Cook song), she kept on singing” Cook revealed. “It’s when she started singing the Jonny Bairstow song, ‘Oh Jonny Bairstow you are the love of my life, Oh Jonny Bairstow you are the love of my life, I’d let you [f***] my my wife’. And we were like, ‘Aah, it’s kiss my wife, kiss my wife.’ She was four at the time. It got to a stage that she knew a lot of… You could say, ‘What is Jimmy Anderson’s song?’ or ‘What is Jonny Bairstow’s song?’”