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Alastair Cook’s career is more about the story of embarking on the audacious rise, the ghost, the effect and above all the monster who lost touch to say goodbye.
The stage is set in the United Kingdom and to be precise, in London.
There is a mist in the air even though it is expected to be sunny, with fans expected to wear a gloomy look. Why shouldn’t they? Maybe they’re going to witness their favourite champ Alastair Cook in the whites for the final time?
Frankly, I am not endorsing Cook, but I commend what he did with the bat.
Cook and his finesse
Sky Sports’ camera crew would be solely focusing on Cook rather than overall Kennington Oval Test match and why would they?
The series is done and dusted. But that has to be another day’s topic.
Courageous Cook has defied all odds, shed tears of joy, and witnessed agony at the same time. And this is the beauty of cricket – to make the professional stronger than ever.
As a writer, I won’t be digging too much into the statistics of Cook, but the nightmare form he is going through during the ongoing India-England is obvious. This was put to rest by his ‘tank is empty’ statement at an age where many professionals made a strong comeback to beat the drum.
So far in seven innings, Cook only managed to score 109 at the wishy-washy average of 15.59. His best of 29 came during the first innings of the fourth and penultimate Test in Nottingham.
It not only kept him under pressure but pushed him to take one of the difficult decisions of his life.
Alastair Cook. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
In 2015, Cook surpassed his mentor Graham Gooch’s tally of 8901 runs to become the leading Test run-getter for the Three Lions.
While spending 2171 minutes at the crease during the 2010-11 Ashes series, Cook smashed 766 runs during the five-match series.
He went on to set a benchmark by becoming the youngest cricketer to register 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000, 10,000, 11,000 and 12,000 runs in the Test arena.
Cook started off his Test career in March 2006 against the Rahul Dravid-led India with a bang, collecting a substantial 60 off 160 deliveries. This showed early glimpses of his real character of being patient and potent for the fortunes of England over the years.
In the same innings, he racked up his maiden Test hundred by remaining unbeaten on 104.
Cook, who surpassed Kevin Pietersen after smashing his 24th Test ton way back in 2012, also holds the record of being the first skipper to register a hundred in his first five matches as captain.
Be it a record partnership of 329 alongside veteran Jonathan Trott at the Gabba in Brisbane, or his most extended innings of 263 in the United Arab Emirates against Pakistan, Cook is known for his temperament, diligence and resilience.
He had spent plenty of time at the crease in Australia during the Ashes series in between the dismissals.
In 2007, after six-odd months and in his maiden year, Cook amassed 1000 runs. He is the first and only English cricketer to achieve such a milestone.
Thank you, Cook, for being calmer than ever amid the rush of adrenaline that is the gentleman’s game.
By Tahir Ibn Manzoor
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