ESSEX cricket captain James Foster has hailed the second Test Ashes win as one of England’s greatest performances, and says clubmate Alastair Cook has shown the Aussies “who’s the daddy”.

Foster, 30, is in Australia at the moment, and will be in Perth on December 16 to see Cook open for his country in the third Test as he looks to build on his record-breaking knocks in the opening two Ashes matches.

Cook, 26 on Christmas Day, travelled down under on the back of criticism surrounding some indifferent performances against Bangladesh and Pakistan in the summer.

But Foster says the Essex opener has now empathically answered his critics.

He said: “Cooky has been outstanding so far, and I’m absolutely delighted for him. It shows that all his hard work has paid off and he has answered all the doubters out there in the perfect way.

“Goochy (Graham Gooch) always goes on about scoring ‘daddy hundreds’, and Cooky has certainly done that here.

“I am looking forward to catching up with Cooky and Goochy for a couple of beers in Perth.”

Foster, who was in the squad which went to Australia for the Ashes tour eight years ago, says England’s great start this time round has heaped tremendous pressure on Ricky Ponting’s struggling side.

There have even been calls for legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne, 41, to come out of retirement and help Australia’s ailing Ashes hopes.

Foster said: “It’s amazing how the press are getting stuck into the Australian team over here.

“I’ve been reading the Western Australian newspaper today and they are talking about how poor the team is, who needs to be dropped, who needs to be brought in.

“It’s a complete turn around compared to when I was over here for the 2003 Ashes. But it is dangerous to write off any Australian sporting team because they have an uncanny ability to turn it on when their backs are against the wall.”

Foster says the series is now there for the taking but that England need to be on guard against complacency, and cope with the loss of injured England paceman Stuart Broad.

He added: “The win in Adelaide has to go down as one of England’s greatest all-round performances. It was almost the perfect Test match for them.

“I feel it sends such a huge statement to the Australian team, and that continues the statement from the Test in Brisbane where we showed great character to save the game.

“For the Australians to comeback they will have to raise their game hugely and England will have to become complacent.

“But we are in a great position and I think everyone is looking forward to the third Test.”