Colossus Cook
REPORTS IT WAS never going to end with a tap on the shoulder or a quiet word in the ear from selectors reluctantly forced into giving him a nudge.
Alastair Cook’s record, his wellgrounded personality and sense of decency were always likely to spare anyone the job of wielding the axe on England’s leading all-time runscorer.
So when the opener announced yesterday morning that after a run of declining fortunes with the bat he was bringing an end to his time in international cricket, it was a return to the impeccable timing that took him to the very top in the first place.
Cook said he had “nothing left in the tank” after a dozen years in the firing line. A numbers the challenge from his pursuer, Jonny Bairstow.
And through application, stubbornness, and immense levels of concentration he has become the most successful.
It will frustrate him that his final summer has not been a good one, and also that his fielding in the slips has become more miss than hit, but when the dust settles after The Oval, the good will outweigh the average.
Many will point to his 766 runs in the 2010-11 Ashes series, during which his 235 in Brisbane, 148 in Adelaide and 189 in Sydney were instrumental in landing a first series in Australia in 24 years.
But the 562 runs he posted in India in the winter of 2012-13 saw him at his finest, pumping selfbelief back into his side after they were blown away and following on in Ahmedabad with a 176 in the second innings of a Test they lost.
It was his stubborn example that India’s spinners could be denied and his 122 in Mumbai and another huge 190 in Kolkata which dragged England to turn around the series to win in India for the first time in 28 years. Cook was never an inspired or instinctive captain yet history is dotted with those who led courageously by example. And what is clear from the many tributes paid yesterday is the affection and admiration with which he was held by those with whom he shared a dressing room.
Cook was once asked what he would want on his tombstone, and he replied: “A nice family man who was half-decent at cricket”. He goes fulfilled with an impressive body of fine work behind him and a handful of records that may stand for ever. nearest
England’s top five all-time leading Test run-scorers: Alastair Cook Graham Gooch Alec Stewart David Gower Kevin Pietersen 12,254 8,900 8,463 8,231 8,181