Alastair Cook's quantum of solace has dropped to zero
Alastair Cook has announced his retirement and the 5th Test match against India will be his last one in whites for England. This epic is much like the short story from the Ian Fleming's book called "For Your Eyes Only."
"Solace" means comforting or alleviation of distress, and "quantum" in science is the least amount involved in some activity. When the quantum of solace drops to zero, humanity and consideration of one human for another is gone. It is the precise figure defining the comfort, humanity, and fellow-feeling required between two people for love to survive.
Alastair Cook's case is no different from that story. Though it wasn't that love for the game had become any less, but he ran out of steam, and stated that "there is nothing left in the tank."
It was no wonder to us as scoring runs consistently was demonstrably harder for him. He, himself, smelt the blood six months ago, that his love affair with Test cricket would not last long. It is called the law of quantum of solace. Gooch, his mentor, the player he looked up to, also sensed that Cook had altiplano and there was no improvement left for him.
Some would argue that he is only 33 years of age; still young and strong and the best is maybe yet to come. In this era, by looking at his record, he is the only one who looked like beating Sachin Tendulkar's record of the highest run scorer in Test cricket. Well, while taking all these things into consideration, there is also another factor which demands attention, and it is about the prerequisite of opening the batting.
In Test cricket, opening the batting is the most draining job and can take its toll on the batsman. It is when the bowlers are fresh and very keen to knock the batsman out. Not to mention that the ball is shiny, hard and seam at its most lethal; fielders are full of sanguinity and ready to hunt in pairs — much like Australians. There is no respite at all.
Southpaw had gone through this ordeal every single time when the scoreboard had said, it is 0-0. And so Cook had lasted for too long, and only a few others in this world have shown fortitude and resilience the way Cook did. He has been mentally tough and gave everything he had to offer — every last pour for every ball he faced — Finally, the well has run dry, and it is time to say goodbye to International cricket.
It all started back in 2006 — his debut in India — and he had scored a courageous hundred, and with that, he announced his arrival in the Test arena. That hundred on debut was a sign of things to come. By then cricketing fraternity knew that this bloke was here to stay. His highest score of walloping 294 came against India on the home soil. Now, he will retire in the knowledge that, he has scored more runs in Test cricket than any other player as an opener, in the history of the game.
He has the unbeaten record of most consecutive appearances of 158 (2006 - 2008). In 160 Test matches, he aggregated 12254 runs and amassed 32 centuries. He also played the third longest innings in Test history that lasted for 836 minutes.
Scoring runs for Cook was never an easy task and toiled hard in every innings. His technique was constantly indebted and sometimes while playing at the ball his legs moved ever so slightly. The footwork could be out of sync. In spite of that, he had conquered everything with his high concentration and sheer willpower and prove that hard work counts of far more than just ability.
In the last press conference, he said, "I can look back and say I became the best player I could have become, and that means a lot to me."
Cook was the canopy that sheltered middle order with dignity for many years. Now he will retire as one of the greats of English cricket.