124 Facts About Alastair Cook

Sir Alastair Nathan Cook was born on 25 December 1984 and is an English cricketer who plays for Essex County Cricket Club, and played for England in all international formats from 2006 to 2018.

Alastair Cook holds the record of most test runs scored by a left handed batsman.

Alastair Cook is the leading run-scorer in Test matches for England, and the youngest player to score 12,000 Test runs.

Alastair Cook has scored a record 33 Test centuries for England and is the first England player to win 50 Test matches.

Alastair Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003.

Alastair Cook played in several of England's youth teams from 2000 until his call up to the Test side in 2006.

Alastair Cook went on to score 1,000 runs in his maiden year and made centuries in his first Test matches against India, Pakistan, the West Indies and Bangladesh.

Alastair Cook was appointed captain of the Test team after Andrew Strauss's retirement on 29 August 2012.

On 30 May 2015, Alastair Cook became the leading run-scorer in Test matches for England, surpassing Graham Gooch.

On 24 May 2018 during the first Test against Pakistan, Alastair Cook equalled Allan Border's record for appearing in the greatest number of consecutive Test matches, with 153, surpassing it a week later in the second Test at Headingley.

On 3 September 2018, Alastair Cook announced that his twelve-year international career would end at the conclusion of the series against India on 11 September 2018.

Alastair Cook was appointed MBE in 2011 and promoted to CBE in 2016 for services to cricket.

Alastair 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.

Alastair Cook is a keen musician: by the age of eight he was learning the clarinet.

Alastair Cook 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.

Alastair Cook played sporadically for Maldon over seven years, with an average of 168 in his final year.

Alastair Cook is an honorary life member of the club.

Alastair Cook sang, played the clarinet to grade eight and learned to play piano and saxophone.

The visiting side were a man short and drafted the 14-year-old new boy to play against his school, and Alastair Cook scored a century.

Later on, Alastair Cook spent two years at Alleyn's School as a PE teacher.

Alastair Cook was brought in as opening batsman for the MCC in 2005 season's opener against County Champions Warwickshire.

Alastair Cook played in every first-class match for Essex and helped them clinch the Totesport League Title for the first time in 20 years.

Alastair Cook scored less favourably in his one Twenty20 Cup appearance, scoring only nine runs.

The 2009 English season featured an early Test series against the West Indies where, despite being in the Test team, Alastair Cook joined Essex in a tour match.

Alastair Cook scored 76 not out in the second innings before the match was rained off, stopping Essex pressing for victory.

Alastair Cook joined them in their bid to defend their Friends Provident Trophy matching Varun Chopra's 65 in a 124 run partnership against Lancashire to gain a place in the semi-final.

Alastair Cook had his first taste of international cricket playing the U15 World Cup in 2000.

Three years later Alastair Cook was called up to the England Under-19 team for their tour of South Africa.

Alastair Cook went on from there to captain them in a U19 Test win over Bangladesh before taking the One-Day series too.

Unlike Shah and Anderson, Alastair Cook was welcomed straight into the England XI and made his Test debut aged 21, days after he had flown in from the West Indies.

Alastair Cook made an instant impact, opening with Andrew Strauss and scoring a half century in the first innings before being bowled just before tea on the first day for 60 runs from 160 balls being the second top scorer after 134 from Paul Collingwood.

Alastair Cook's hundred was the 3,000th century in Test cricket.

At the start of the following series against Pakistan, Alastair Cook recorded his second Test century, gaining him a spot on the boards at Lord's alongside Ian Bell and Collingwood.

In what now seemed a pattern, Alastair Cook's century came up while partnering with Collingwood as with his previous two.

Once again Alastair Cook was overlooked in the one day series.

Alastair Cook was selected for his first Twenty20 International against the West Indies, in a losing effort where he scored 15 runs from 16 balls.

Alastair Cook was the third-highest scoring Englishman with an average of 37.

Alastair Cook played in six of the seven ensuing one-day matches, scoring his maiden ODI century in the first match alongside Ian Bell's 126 not out guiding England to a 104 win victory that propped up England's first one-day series victory since 2005.

Alastair Cook picked up his first ODI Man of The Match award in the fourth game after scoring 80 to help England win by five wickets.

Up until this tour, Alastair Cook had held a strange record of having more Test centuries than half centuries but this century marked his last until March 2009 and Alastair Cook came under increasing criticism for his lack of ability to convert fifties to hundreds at the top of the order, yet maintained an average in the low forties.

England's tour of the antipodes continued with the tour of New Zealand and Alastair Cook made a great start in the warm up matches, making a half century followed by an unbeaten 138 the following day in limited overs matches.

Alastair Cook's style was still considered too slow for the following two Twenty20 Internationals and he failed to continue his form in the first ODI where he fell for 11 as part of an England collapse.

The second match saw a similar collapse by England where Alastair Cook's 52 was the only real contribution until he was run out by fellow Essexian Ravi Bopara.

Back home in England Alastair Cook failed to reproduce his legacy of Lord's centuries.

Again, at Lord's, Alastair Cook made his way comfortably to a half-century before being dismissed for 60.

Alastair Cook fell in one innings of each Test between fifty and a hundred, amassing the considerable average of 47 for the series.

Once again Alastair Cook found himself omitted from the Twenty20 and one-day team both for the home series against South Africa as well as the majority of the away series in India, where a string of poor England performances saw him called up for the fifth and ultimately the final match after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Alastair Cook was shown still to have the selectors' confidence despite his lack of centuries when he was given the unofficial vice-captaincy before the tour began.

Alastair Cook seemed to have put it behind him in the first innings of the next Test as he and Strauss put on a record opening stand of 229.

Strauss was bowled first for 169 as Alastair Cook reached the nineties but fell shortly thereafter for 94.

The Second Test took the sides to the Riverside in Durham where, on a benign surface, Alastair Cook battled through the first day.

Alastair Cook bounced back in the second Test at Lord's, batting through to the afternoon session, as he and his captain Andrew Strauss set the record for the highest opening English partnership at Lord's with 196, Alastair Cook initially scored faster than Strauss but fell short of another Lord's century, trapped again by Johnson for 95.

Batting quickly in the second innings to force victory, Alastair Cook scored 32 from 54 balls before again falling LBW but providing enough for England to cement their first victory over Australia at Lord's since 1934 and second since 1896.

However, in the field Alastair Cook was part of Australia's first innings collapse, taking two catches off Graeme Swann to dismiss the top scoring opener Simon Katich and the penultimate wicket of Stuart Clark.

At 25 years, 79 days Alastair Cook became the youngest Englishman to reach this amount and the second youngest worldwide after Indian veteran Sachin Tendulkar who was 24 years, 224 days old.

Alastair Cook was unable to reproduce the good from he showed as captain, making scores of seven and 23 in the first Test before being dismissed for 29 in the second Test between the two sides.

Alastair Cook's form did not improve in the next match where he made scores of 17 and four.

Alastair Cook's 235* overtook Don Bradman's record score at the ground and several other records were set in that innings.

Alastair Cook broke Wally Hammond's record of runs scored without being out and Nasser Hussain's record of most minutes at the crease without being out, before being caught behind off an inside edge for 148 after over 1,000 minutes of being at the crease.

Alastair Cook was expected to be a key player when England met India, with the series winners taking over the world number one spot.

Alastair Cook scored 60 in the first match but England lost by 126 runs.

Alastair Cook scored just 13 runs in the next three games, which included being dismissed for a duck.

Alastair Cook was out cheaply in the first innings as England were again bowled out for less than 200, and although he made 49 in the next innings it wasn't enough to prevent another England defeat.

Back at home against the West Indies, Alastair Cook continued to perform well, hitting a half century in the first match of the series.

Alastair Cook started the series well, making yet another century in the first innings of the first match between the two sides.

The next match ended in a draw, with Alastair Cook making decent contributions, despite failing to pass fifty.

Alastair Cook had an unsuccessful ODI series, the only 50 he made coming in the final match of the series.

On 29 August 2012, Alastair Cook became England's Test captain after previous Test captain Andrew Strauss retired from all forms of cricket.

Alastair Cook, who captained England in Bangladesh for two Tests in a previous series, took charge of England for the Test series against India in the winter of 2012.

The ten-wicket victory in the second Test was lauded by the media as one of England's greatest victories, and Alastair Cook's run of hundreds brought him level with the English Test record for most centuries.

On 6 December 2012, Alastair Cook became England's leading scorer of centuries after making a hundred against India in Kolkata.

Alastair Cook was named in the World Test XI by the Cricinfo.

Alastair Cook continued his impressive form in the ODI series, scoring 75 in the first match, which helped England win the game.

Alastair Cook was less impressive in the next two games as India took a lead in the series after winning both games.

England clinched the series by winning the decider, in which Alastair Cook made 46 to secure the series for England.

Alastair Cook led England in the 2013 Champions trophy, and they won their first game against Australia.

Alastair Cook made 59 against Sri Lanka, but England lost the game meaning they were not assured of their place in the next round.

Alastair Cook top scored with 64 as England narrowly beat New Zealand to book their place in the semi-final.

Alastair Cook was named as part of the 'Team of the Tournament' by Cricinfo.

Alastair Cook played in the ODI series, despite calls for him to be rested ahead of the Ashes.

England won the first Test, with Alastair Cook making 50 in England's second innings to help them set Australia a competitive target to win the game.

The third match ended in a draw, with Alastair Cook scoring 62 in the first innings, but being dismissed for a duck in the second.

The final match ended in a draw, with Alastair Cook failing to pass fifty in either of his innings.

Alastair Cook himself played no part in the series, being replaced in the side by Michael Carberry.

Alastair Cook top-scored in England's second innings with 65 but it wasn't enough as England slumped to defeat.

Alastair Cook made 72 in the first innings but was dismissed for a platinum duck in the second as England lost their third straight match by over 100 runs.

The fourth Test saw Alastair Cook make another 50, but it wasn't enough to prevent another heavy defeat.

Alastair Cook scored 44 in the fourth match as England finally won their first game of the tour.

Alastair Cook continued in his role as captain for the home series against Sri Lanka.

Alastair Cook followed this up with an unbeaten 30 in the third match and guided England to a ten wicket victory.

Alastair Cook continued to struggle for form in the Test series against Sri Lanka, scoring 17 and 28 as England drew the game.

Alastair Cook was criticised for not declaring earlier and not giving his bowlers enough time to win the game.

England lost the next match, with Alastair Cook again failing to pass fifty in either innings, with his high score in the match being 33 in the second innings.

Alastair Cook went into the Test series against India under pressure following the defeat to Sri Lanka.

Alastair Cook then went on to score 70 not out in second innings before declaring as England won the match to level the series.

Alastair Cook captained England for the ODI tour of Sri Lanka.

England won the third match, with Alastair Cook making 34, although he was later banned for the next game due to a slow over rate.

However, they lost the last two games, with Alastair Cook making scores of 1 and 32.

On 19 December 2014, Alastair Cook was removed as one-day captain, and replaced by Eoin Morgan.

Alastair Cook continued his captaincy of the Test team, having not scored a century since May 2013.

Alastair Cook took advantage of favourable batting conditions in the following Test, making 76 in an opening partnership of 125 in England's first innings with Jonathan Trott.

Alastair Cook made 75 in England's first innings as they posted 350 to equal New Zealand's first innings score.

Alastair Cook captained England in the 2015 Ashes series, and although England won the first game, Alastair Cook could only manage scores of 20 in the first innings and 12 in the second.

England lost the second Test by 405 runs, but Alastair Cook was one of the few England batsman to show any resistance, scoring 96 in England's first innings.

England won the fourth Test by an innings and 78 runs, meaning Alastair Cook only needed to bat once, scoring 43 in England's first innings.

England lost the final match of the series, but Alastair Cook was again one of few England batsmen to show any resistance with the bat as he scored 85 in their second innings.

Alastair Cook scored his third double-century and 28th Test ton against Pakistan in first Test at Abu Dhabi in October 2015 in 836 minutes: the longest innings by an Englishman and 3rd longest of all time, facing 528 balls.

Alastair Cook was named in the Test XI by ESPNCricinfo and Cricbuzz.

However, England collapsed in the second innings and only made 101, with Alastair Cook being dismissed for five.

Alastair Cook became the 12th international cricketer to reach the landmark and the first Englishman.

Alastair Cook scored 47 in England's second innings to help England to a convincing nine wicket victory.

Alastair Cook came in down the order for England's second innings after being injured in the field and made an unbeaten 49.

Alastair Cook broke India great Sunil Gavaskar's record of 9,607 for the most runs as a Test opener while making 81 against Pakistan in the first Test at Lord's.

On 22 July 2016, Alastair Cook equalled Don Bradman's record of having hit 29 Test centuries when he scored 105 on the opening day of the 2nd Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford.

Alastair Cook made 49 in England's second innings as they were dismissed for 207 to lose by an innings and 75 runs.

Alastair Cook's top scored in the second innings there with 42, with no other England batsmen offering much resistance.

Alastair Cook went on to carry his bat with a double century and put England into a lead of over 100, finishing with 244 not out, the highest Test score by an opener who has carried the bat.

On 3 September 2018, after the conclusion of the fourth Test, Alastair Cook announced that his twelve-year international career would end at the conclusion of the series against India.

Alastair Cook has written a column in The Daily Telegraph and Metro.

Alastair Cook used his skill with the saxophone to contribute to Freefonix, a CBBC animated series with music-based adventures.

Alastair 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.

In December 2011, Alastair Cook married Alice Hunt, whom he had known since childhood.

Alastair Cook was allowed to miss two tour games in Bangladesh to be present at the birth of the second child in October 2016.

Alastair 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".