Cook delivers a fairy-tale farewell
Gideon BROOKS AT THE KIA OVAL AT TIMES yesterday, it seemed harder work in the stands than out in the middle with at least nine standing ovations for Alastair Cook.
Yet as tired as the hands and feet were at the end of an emotional day at the Oval, those 19,300 who turned up to wave goodbye to a legend went home feeling nothing but gratitude after the opener delivered what they wanted one last time.
When Cook looks back on his career, there is little doubt this will be among his most treasured days.
For sure, there have been more significant runs, harder battles and more at stake, but from a “purely selfish” point of view he admitted afterwards, this was difficult to top.
In addition to finishing his career with a magnificent 147 as England sailed smoothly towards victory, his best friend in the England dressing room, Jimmy Anderson, equalled Glenn McGrath’s fast bowling record of 563 Test wickets.
And for a player who seems more comfortable celebrating others’ success than his own, that pretty much made things perfect.
With India 36-3 chasing 464 for victory, Joe Root took Anderson from the attack after five overs. The gesture was a classy piece of captaincy as the tourists finished on 58-3, given it ensured the day remained about Cook.
So, no longer racked by reducing output and with pressure off following his decision to call it a day, there was perfect symmetry in the way the opener bookended his career with centuries. Yet there were also welcome reminders of the freedom and assured touch that have marked his best moments.
As Cook has gathered records towards the end of his career, the harvest has proved increasingly arduous work of late, but yesterday there were some glorious strokes that spoke of his settled and clear mind. The first of the standing ovations came as he made his way out to bat. There was another on reaching his half-century and again when he reached 76, overtaking Kumar Sangakkara as the fifth most prolific Test batsman and leading left-hander.
The biggest two were reserved for his century, which arrived before lunch, and his dismissal.
Having reached 95 with a punched straight drive off Jasprit Bumrah that drew an admiring gasp from the crowd, his century came from the same source.
Fielding at backward point, Bumrah turned a rushed single into a five as he flung the ball at the non-striker’s end only to see it race to the boundary.
That milestone saw Cook become only the fifth in history and first England player to score a hundred in both his first and last appearances.
Root embraced him, the crowd acclaimed him and the ovation went on for nearly two minutes with Cook eventually seemingly concerned it might not stop, taking his guard as Ravi Jadeja waited patiently.
Cook waited slightly awkwardly as the noise kept going. “I thought they wouldn’t shut up,” he said with a smile afterwards. By the time he
TOP FIVE RUN-SCORERS Tests runs 200 15,921 168 13,378 166 13,289 164 13,288 161 12,472 1: Sachin Tendulkar 2: Ricky Ponting 3: Jacques Kallis 4: Rahul Dravid 5: Alastair Cook (India) (Australia) (S Africa) (India) (England)
finally feathered a cut off the bowling of Hanuma Vihari one delivery after Root had mistimed a drive to mid-on for 125 to end their 259-run partnership, Cook had 147.
So 161 Tests, 12 and a half years, 26,562 deliveries yielding 12,472 runs came to an end. The crowd stood up once more and India’s entire team queued to shake his hand.
He allowed himself one last 360-degree turn as he approached the rope to soak it up as wife Alice, with daughters Isabelle and Elsie and surrounded by family, beamed in the stands.
The pair are expecting their third child any time now with the due date officially