Alastair Cook
Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English commentator and a former cricketer and captain of the England Test and One-Day International (ODI) cricket teams. Known for his compact technique and ability to bat for long periods, Cook is widely regarded as one of the greatest batters of his era and one of the greatest opening batsman of all time. He is the sixth-highest Test run scorer of all time and second-highest run scorer for England. He is England's second most-capped Test batsman and captained the England team in 59 Tests, as well as in 69 ODIs. He was also the youngest player to score 12,000 test runs. Cook 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 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 team 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. In 2023, Cook was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
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