Alastair Cook's career insight
Former English Captain Alastair Cook is set to retire after the fifth Specsaver Test vs India. As the hosts sealed the ongoing series by a victory at Southampton, Cook on Monday morning said in his statement, "After much thought and deliberation over the last few months I have decided to announce my retirement from international cricket at the end of this Test series against India."
Cook is the all-time highest run-scorer for England (12254 runs) and their most capped player (finish with 161) in the Test matches. Cook had been struggling with his form this summer with miserable scores; also the last two series didn't go well for the veteran English opener, and he knew it was the time to hang up his boots. So let's take an insight into one of the best players of the modern era.
Early Phase (2003-2006)
Cook debuted for the county championship with Essex in 2003; he had an average first season which helped him regain his spot as an opener in the upcoming season. He was prolific in the next two seasons and ended up hitting four centuries in 2005. His exploits with the bat earned him a place in the India tour of 2006, where Cook scored his maiden Test hundred in his debut at Nagpur, and this was followed by a couple of good series' against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Cook was rewarded with his maiden Ashes call-up for the 2006-07 season, and though he failed to impress in the first two Tests, a gritty knock of 119 came from the willow of 21-year-old Cook in an attempt to save the series in the third Test. Unfortunately, England lost the Test match and series 5-0. However, Cook went to become the only second player after Mark Taylor to score 1000 runs in the maiden year.
Rising through the Ashes (2007-2010)
Cook became the youngest Englishman to score 2000, 3000, 4000 runs. He had a good home series against India despite England not winning a Test. Cook was chosen a deputy to Andrew Strauss for their West Indies tour in 2009. The Bangladesh tour of 2009-10 was the best time, for the player as Cook was handed captaincy duties and was flamboyant during the series. It was the Ashes (2010-11) however where Cook introduced himself as the next big thing in cricket, scoring 766 runs with two centuries and a double century at a staggering average of 127.66. Cook's heroics earned him the Man of the Series and England won Ashes 3-1.
Golden Years (2011-2016)
Strauss retired from ODIs in 2011, following a quarter-final exit from World Cup 2011 and Cook was chosen as his successor to lead the team. Cook had a great performance in the home series against Sri Lanka where he amassed two centuries and two fifties. Cook played a vital role in England's victory over India in the summer of 2011, following miserable scores in first two Tests. After Strauss declared his retirement from all the formats of the game in 2012, Cook took full-time captaincy duties and later became the second most successful captain for England. Cook led England to two Ashes triumphs in 2013 and 2015 with a defeat in the 2013-14 season. He played the third longest innings of all-time with his 836 minutes of stay on the crease to score 263 against Pakistan at Abu-Dhabi. Cook surpassed Sunil Gavaskar's record of highest runs scored by an opener (9607 runs) playing at the Lord's.
The Dusk (2017-2018)
After a series defeat against India in 2016, Cook stood down as captain and emerging star of England Joe Root was handed the leadership role. In the home series against South Africa, he didn't enjoy much success as he managed to score only three fifties. Cook had a horrible Ashes, as he wasn't getting major runs, excluding his innings of 244 not out at the MCC. His struggle with the bat continued in the current home series vs India as the legendary opener has had a miserable run so far. The sixth highest run-scorer in Test cricket knew his reign had come to an end and decided to hang his boots after the final Test.