Former England captain Alastair Cook will retire from international cricket after the fifth and last Test against India at the Kia Oval starting September 7. This will bring an end to his career where he will end up playing 159 Tests consecutively, a world record.
A true great of the game for England cricket, Cook made his Test debut against India in Nagpur in 2006 and scored a century on debut. He went on to score 12,254 runs with 32 centuries and a best of 294. Though Cook is only 33 years old a grim run of form which has seen him average just 18.62 in nine Tests this year, which made the decision to hang up the gloves easy for him.
He captained England from 2012-2016 in 59 Tests.
Twitter was abuzz with the news of his retirement and tributes flowed in from all corners and we have collated some of the best tweets.
Here they are:
No player has given more to the England cricket shirt .. No player has got more out of there ability .. No player has shown more mental strength than Alastair Cook .. More than that he is the nicest Cricketer we have ever had .. Thanks for all the memories Cookie .. #CookRetires
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 3, 2018
What a brilliant career for Alastair Cook! One of England's finest. Can retire with great pride at what he has achieved.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 3, 2018
Congratulations Alastair Cook on a glorious career. You can be very proud of the way you played. Best wishes for the future.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) September 3, 2018
Right from the time he made his debut against us in Nagpur, knew that he is a very special talent and will have a huge role to play in English Cricket .I wish to congratulate Alastair Cook on a wonderful career for England. #CookRetires
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) September 3, 2018
Indeed. Big man is bidding goodbye to International cricket after the last Test. #Cook #Retires https://t.co/4PGOzbaZkF
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 3, 2018
Incredible career, lovely human. Hats off, Chef. https://t.co/loDflrHS8R
— mark butcher (@markbutcher72) September 3, 2018
It was a pleasure! What a career this man has had @englandcricket #alistaircook pic.twitter.com/1CxROIXjMy
— Nick Compton (@thecompdog) September 3, 2018
Alastair Cook = Jet!!????
— Wayne Parnell (@WayneParnell) September 3, 2018
Wow, end of an era with Cook calling it a day. Loved his determination and grit to score ugly runs on difficult conditions. All the best for the future. https://t.co/bcBk9Q0tVG
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) September 3, 2018
