Alastair Cook retiring; ‘nothing left in tank’
LONDON: Alastair Cook (33), England’s leading test runscorer, will retire from international cricket after this week’s fifth test against India.
The lefthanded opening batsman, who captained England in 59 tests, admitted there was ‘‘nothing left in the tank’’ after enduring a poor run of form in nine tests this year in which he averaged 18.62 runs compared with a career average of 44.88.
Since making a century on his test debut against India in 2006, Cook has become England’s leading scorer in the longest form of the game and is the sixth highest scorer in fiveday cricket with 12,254 runs, including 32 centuries.
‘‘After much thought and deliberation over the last few months I have decided to announce my retirement from international cricket,’’ Cook, who will play his 161st test starting on Friday, said in a statement.
‘‘I have achieved more than I could have ever imagined and feel very privileged to have played for such a long time alongside some of the greats of the English game,’’ he added.
After leading England to two Ashes victories over Australia,
Cook suffered a 50 series whitewash Down Under in 201314. He resigned from the captaincy in 2016 after a 40 defeat in India.
Cook will continue playing for Essex next season.
He said early mentor Graham Gooch ‘‘was my sounding board, especially in the early years of my career, spending hour after hour throwing balls at me with his dog stick. He made me realise you always need to keep improving whatever you are trying to achieve’’.
England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves hailed Cook’s achievements as England’s most capped player.
‘‘Alastair’s selfless dedication to the England cause and his desire to succeed are an object lesson to any professional cricketer . . . he fully deserves to be remembered as one of England’s greatest ever cricketers,’’ Graves said in a statement.