Alastair Cook expects to enter a period of mourning once his Test career comes to an end at the Oval but the opener has already ruled out being talked back into the whites of his country in future, insisting: “I have done my bit.”
Speaking before his 161st and final Test starting on Friday, a match in which Joe Root’s side will look to wrap up a 4-1 series victory over India and move to No 4 in the rankings, Cook joked that one close friend contacted him just to check he was still alive, such has been the outpouring of tributes following news of his retirement.
But as he looks to sign off from national duty by adding to his England record tallies of 12,254 Test runs and 32 centuries, Cook accepted the reality of his decision to step down from international cricket was yet to kick in even though playing on only for Essex – he has signed a new three-year deal with the county – and life on the family farm will soften the blow.
“I’m going to miss the buzz,” said Cook, who revealed he had wrestled with thoughts of retirement over the past six months. “When there’s a tight game, or when Edgbaston is rocking, you’ll sit there with jealousy watching people play for England.
“However I’m very content with what I’ve achieved. There is going to be a transition period. There are going to be times when you get mourning and stuff like that, and that transition has to take place and you accept it. Having the opportunity to play for Essex over the next couple of years will help a lot.”
Cook’s continuation for Essex at such a relatively young age could bring talk of an England return down the line – he is 33, while his mentor, Graham Gooch, ploughed on until 41 – not least if the national team’s search for dependable openers continues into next summer’s Ashes series while he is churning out runs in the County Championship.
The left-hander’s decision is based on a loss of the extra mental edge required for the top level, such that he accepted even a simple break from England duty would not have worked. Asked if he could ever be tempted back in the event of a crisis, Cook replied: “That is a very tough question to answer but no, I’m retiring and that’s it. It is final. All those glorious things are just hypothetical. I have done my bit.”
Cook’s Test career will end at the same venue as those of a host of greats – Alec Stewart, Curtly Ambrose, Viv Richards, David Gower, Ted Dexter and Don Bradman are among those to sign off at the Oval – but could yet be interrupted, with his wife, Alice, expecting their third child imminently.
The couple have already agreed he will play on and miss the birth, even if the hope is the match situation permits a brief departure if required.
Saying goodbye has not been easy. Cook needed “a couple of beers” to break the news to his teammates after the 60-run Test win in Southampton on Sunday and some tears were shed. Despite knowing batsmen of his obdurate ilk are scarce these days, he believes it should be accepted and offered his belief the England Test team are “more talented than any I’ve played in” – just lacking consistency away from home.
He said: “Naturally kids are going to be attracted by the razzmatazz of Twenty20 cricket. I’ve seen it when youngsters have come into the Essex team. Their attacking game is better than their defensive game. I’m not sure I’m the last of a dying breed but there will certainly be less cricketers who are naturally suited to red-ball cricket rather than white.
“The kids will have a diet of T20. We had it when I was younger but we didn’t think: ‘I’ll whack it over the keeper’s head third ball.’ I don’t think we should be scared of that. We have to embrace it and if we play less Test cricket, which might happen, we just have to place more importance on it.”
On his international career, which from a century on debut in Nagpur in 2006 following a 10,000-mile detour from the Caribbean has produced mountains of runs, four Ashes wins and a record 59 caps as captain, Cook added: “I hope I’m still the same person as when I started. Those who know me best would say that.
“They’ll still say I’m stubborn; they’ll still say I’m single-minded and hopefully still OK to be around. And I think everyone knows opening the batting is the toughest job in the team. I’m still going to say that now I’ve finished.
“When you look where I’ll end up in terms of runs, it would be very arrogant to say I expected to get there. It’s gone better than I could ever have imagined. That’s why I can safely say I’m sad in one way but also content in what I have achieved. It makes it a lot easier.”
