COOK DETERMINED TO DO HIMSELF JUSTICE
ENGLAND LEGEND RISES TO THE OCCASION IN HIS FINAL TEST MATCH
Alastair Cook’s determination to rise to the occasion in his final Test drove him on at The Oval.
Cook admits he was disappointed eventually to be dismissed, bowled off an inside-edge by India seamer Jasprit Bumrah for 71, but he spoke with relief too at stumps that he had done himself justice.
In his 161st and final Test, the innings which is likely to prove Cook’s penultimate in international cricket - after he announced his impending retirement - helped England close on 198 for seven.
Despite a late collapse of six wickets for 48 to an India attack who excelled themselves, England therefore retain prospects of sending their all-time record runscorer off with a win which would complete a 4-1 scoreline in a Specsavers series the hosts sealed last week.
Cook walked out to bat to a standing ovation, through a guard of honour from Virat Kohli’s India, and the last thing he wanted of course was to let himself and an expectant crowd down.
“Because of the emotion, I just did not want to not get a score,” he told Sky Sports Cricket.
“I was so determined, because there is nothing worse than going out and not contributing...all the fuss about the week, and you don’t deliver the goods.
“Everyone says ‘just enjoy it, it doesn’t matter how many runs you get’ - but that is never the case. There is never a game of cricket like that.
“I am pleased with a bit of a score, but disappointed to get out when I did.”
Cook shared an opening stand of 60 with Keaton Jennings and then one of 73 with England’s new number three Moeen Ali (50).
The 33-year-old opener was touched by the reaction of a packed house, and the opposition, when he began his innings.
“It all happened so quickly, it is really weird,” he said. “The guard of honour is such a nice gesture, it is very kind of Virat and the Indians, but I was just focusing on the first ball.
“The reception I got was fantastic. It went on a bit, and that made me even more determined not to get out.”
Moeen Ali began to sense, during their hard-working partnership through a wicketless afternoon, that Joe Root’s prediction of a valedictory Cook century may prove accurate.
“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “When he got dropped I just said it was meant to be for you.”
Cook eventually succumbed to Jasprit, and after having to play against type for his deserved half-century, Moeen described India’s bowling as “one of the best attacks I’ve faced”.
He added: “I probably wasn’t good enough to nick them. When I went into tea, the guys were calling me Geoffrey Boycott.
“Then they came in, played and missed their first ball ... and I was pretty happy with that!”