Alastair Cook was never an especially elegant batter, but his determination, his longevity and the sheer number of runs he made cemented his position as one of England's greatest. As the Oval crowd in his final Test stood to give him ovation after ovation, his popularity and the respect he evoked were abundantly clear. A knighthood followed a few months later.

By the time he played his final Test, aged only 33, he was already England's highest run-scorer and century-maker in Test cricket; had taken the most catches (as a non-keeper) for England; and had set a world record for the most Test caps in succession: an eye-watering 159.

Early life and education

Cook was born in Gloucester; his mother Stephanie is a teacher from Swansea, while his father Graham worked as a telecommunications engineer and enjoyed village cricket. Cook is a keen musician: by the age of eight he was learning the clarinet. He became a boarding pupil at St Paul's Cathedral School in London, an independent school connected to the cathedral, as a chorister, with a rigorous schedule of rehearsals.

Aged 13, Cook's musical flair led to him to becoming a boarding pupil at Bedford School, an independent school for boys in the county town of Bedford. He sang, played the clarinet to grade eight and learned to play piano and saxophone.

Career

He started his first-class career with English county cricket team Essex in 2003. Cook made his test debut in 2006 and scored his first test century against India on 1 March 2006 for England team led by Andrew Flintoff.

He scored his first One-day international century against India on 21 August 2007 at Rose Bowl, Southampton. After his consistent performances and winning efforts with his bat, he was elected as the Test team captain by replacing the previous captain Andrew Strauss on 29 August 2012.

He led the England team to win their first Test series victory over India led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni which has players such as Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli in the team. The victory was first since 1984/85 and is currently for England cricket Test cricket team led by current captain Joe Root.

Cook took retirement from international cricket on September 3, 2018, after 5th test against India.

Personal Life

Currently 33, he stands at a height of 6 feet 2 inches tall. He has written column s for newspapers such as Daily Telegraph and Metro. He is also known as for his time with the charity foundation such as his contribution in raising awareness against breast cancer, Everman campaign cause, and David Randall Foundation.

It is known besides his passion for cricket, he has a fondness for farming. He has a farm which is very close to Leighton Buzzard and Cook is also known for his other fondness for hunting and deer stalking.

Talking about his personal life, the England batsman is married to his wife and his childhood sweetheart, Alice Hunt in December 2011. The couple is blessed with two daughters, Elsie born on 3 April 2014 and  Isabelle born on 13 October 2016.

Outside cricket

Cook has written a column in The Daily Telegraph and Metro. He used his skill with the saxophone to contribute to Freefonix, a CBBC animated series with music-based adventures. Cook has donated his time to various charities including taking part in The Great City Race for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and modelled naked alongside fellow cricketers James Anderson and Stuart Broad to help raise awareness for testicular cancer on behalf of the Everyman Campaign. He is also an active patron of the David Randall Foundation, a charity that carries the name of his childhood friend and opening partner at Maldon CC & Essex age group sides. Much of the proceeds from his 2014 Benefit Year went to this charity.

In December 2011, Cook married Alice Hunt, whom he had known since childhood. The couple have two daughters and one son. He was allowed to miss two tour games in Bangladesh to be present at the birth of the second child in October 2016.

Cook helps maintain a farm near inner urban Leighton Buzzard, and has described farming and cricket as the two passions in his life, stating that "They are both my passions and not many people can say what they do for their job or their life is what they love doing all the time". Cook is a fan of hunting and deer stalking.

Cook published his autobiography (Sir Alastair Cook: My Autobiography) in September 2019 with Penguin Books.

Career Stats