Former England skipper Sir Alastair Cook while talking about his county cricket career said that he will continue playing in the domestic tournaments till the ball hits the middle of his bat.
After calling on time on his international career for England in 2018, Alastair Cook signed a three-year contract at Essex county club and went on to win County Championship in 2019 and then Bob Willis Trophy in the following year.
With only one year left for his contract with Essex, Cook said he enjoys playing for the club because it's away from the scrutiny and pressure that comes with international cricket.
"I’ve enjoyed being at Essex without the real scrutiny and pressure of playing international cricket. In county cricket you do go back to basics in one sense, to batting and catching and remembering why you played sport in the first place,” Alastair Cook told Daily Mail.
Cook admitted that he might have to give his place to a youngster soon. He, however, added that as long as the county and his family support him and the ball hits the middle of his bat, he will continue to play.
"I am in limbo to an extent because in three months' time I could be sitting here thinking ‘do you know what? It’s time for someone else to have my place. But while I’ve still got the support of Essex and my family and if the ball is still hitting the middle of my bat more often than my pad I’ll continue,” he said.
Sir Alastair Cook revealed that winning the county championship was on the top of his bucket list and winning the same after retirement was brilliant.
“I had sat down with Chris Silverwood at Chelmsford and told him winning the championship was top of my bucket list. I was part of the 2017 title win with Essex but I didn’t play the whole season. So to do that in the first year after I stopped with England was brilliant,” said Alastair Cook.
Cook further said that he still has the motivation to do well and there’s no better feeling than scoring runs. He added that he missed playing in front of Essex crowds last year.
"The motivation to do well is still there because I don’t want to disgrace myself. I don’t want to look stupid. And there’s still no better feeling than scoring runs.
You can’t buy an experience like walking out at the MCG in front of a full house. And we really missed playing in front of Essex crowds last year. I think we’ll really notice it as players when fans are back and appreciate it as well." he concluded.
Alastair Cook, 36, amassed 12,472 runs in 161 Tests and is the highest run-scorer for England in Test cricket.
(Daily Mail inputs)
