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Alastair Cook
Sir Alastair Nathan Cook CBE (born 25 December 1984) is a former English cricketer and the former captain of the England Test and One-Day International (ODI) teams. He retired from Test cricket in September 2018 and played for Essex in English domestic cricket until 2023, while also working for the BBC radio programme Test Match Special.
Cook is considered to be one of the greatest opening batsmen in Test cricket. He is the sixth-highest Test run scorer of all time and second-highest run scorer for England. He is England's most-capped Test batsman and captained the England team in 59 Tests, as well as in 69 ODIs. He is the second highest run-scorer in Test matches for England, and the youngest player to score 12,000 Test runs (the sixth overall). A left-handed opening batsman, Cook scored 33 Test centuries for England.
Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003. He played in several of England's youth teams from 2000 until his call up to the Test side in 2006. Cook was called up to the England national team in India as a last-minute replacement for Marcus Trescothick and debuted, aged 21, with a century. He 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.
Cook was appointed captain of the Test team after Andrew Strauss's retirement on 29 August 2012. After England's 2016 tour of Bangladesh and India, he stepped down as Test captain. Cook retired from international cricket after the 2018 series against India, and from all forms of cricket in October 2023. Cook was appointed MBE in 2011 and promoted to CBE in 2016 for services to cricket. In the 2019 New Year Honours, Cook was appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to cricket. On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018, Cook was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the ECB.
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.
When he was a boy, his family lived in Wickham Bishops, a village near Witham in central Essex. During his summer holidays, Cook played cricket for nearby Maldon Cricket Club, and by the age of 11 he was already playing in the adult Third XI. He played sporadically for Maldon over seven years, with an average of 168 in his final year. He is now an honorary life member of the club.
Aged 13, Cook's musical flair led him to become 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. Music was soon eclipsed when the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) came to play against the Bedford School XI. The visiting side were a man short and drafted the 14-year-old new boy to play against his school, and Cook scored a century.
Over the next four years, he hit 17 centuries and two double-hundreds to total 4,396 runs at an average of 87.90, captaining the cricket team in his final year as well as being President of the Music Society. He also gained three A-Levels and nine GCSEs. In his final year at Bedford in 2003, he scored 1,287 runs for the school, including two unbeaten double-hundreds, averaging 160.87 to take the school record. After his international success, Cook returned for an Old Boys' match at Bedford in 2008, playing for the Head Master's Ultimate XI.
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Alastair Cook
Sir Alastair Nathan Cook CBE (born 25 December 1984) is a former English cricketer and the former captain of the England Test and One-Day International (ODI) teams. He retired from Test cricket in September 2018 and played for Essex in English domestic cricket until 2023, while also working for the BBC radio programme Test Match Special.
Cook is considered to be one of the greatest opening batsmen in Test cricket. He is the sixth-highest Test run scorer of all time and second-highest run scorer for England. He is England's most-capped Test batsman and captained the England team in 59 Tests, as well as in 69 ODIs. He is the second highest run-scorer in Test matches for England, and the youngest player to score 12,000 Test runs (the sixth overall). A left-handed opening batsman, Cook scored 33 Test centuries for England.
Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003. He played in several of England's youth teams from 2000 until his call up to the Test side in 2006. Cook was called up to the England national team in India as a last-minute replacement for Marcus Trescothick and debuted, aged 21, with a century. He 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.
Cook was appointed captain of the Test team after Andrew Strauss's retirement on 29 August 2012. After England's 2016 tour of Bangladesh and India, he stepped down as Test captain. Cook retired from international cricket after the 2018 series against India, and from all forms of cricket in October 2023. Cook was appointed MBE in 2011 and promoted to CBE in 2016 for services to cricket. In the 2019 New Year Honours, Cook was appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to cricket. On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018, Cook was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the ECB.
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.
When he was a boy, his family lived in Wickham Bishops, a village near Witham in central Essex. During his summer holidays, Cook played cricket for nearby Maldon Cricket Club, and by the age of 11 he was already playing in the adult Third XI. He played sporadically for Maldon over seven years, with an average of 168 in his final year. He is now an honorary life member of the club.
Aged 13, Cook's musical flair led him to become 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. Music was soon eclipsed when the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) came to play against the Bedford School XI. The visiting side were a man short and drafted the 14-year-old new boy to play against his school, and Cook scored a century.
Over the next four years, he hit 17 centuries and two double-hundreds to total 4,396 runs at an average of 87.90, captaining the cricket team in his final year as well as being President of the Music Society. He also gained three A-Levels and nine GCSEs. In his final year at Bedford in 2003, he scored 1,287 runs for the school, including two unbeaten double-hundreds, averaging 160.87 to take the school record. After his international success, Cook returned for an Old Boys' match at Bedford in 2008, playing for the Head Master's Ultimate XI.