Alastair Cook facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Alastair Cook

Cook in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Alastair Nathan Cook
Born	(1984-12-25) 25 December 1984 (age 40) Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England
Nickname	Cookie, Chef, Captain Cook
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Right-arm slow seam
Role	Opening batsman
International information
National side	England (2006–2018)
Test debut (cap 630)	1 March 2006 v India
Last Test	7 September 2018 v India
ODI debut (cap 196)	28 June 2006 v Sri Lanka
Last ODI	16 December 2014 v Sri Lanka
ODI shirt no.	26
T20I debut (cap 24)	28 June 2007 v West Indies
Last T20I	15 November 2009 v South Africa
T20I shirt no.	26
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2002	Bedfordshire
2003	Essex Cricket Board
2003–2023	Essex (squad no. 26)
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 161 92 352 178 Runs scored 12,472 3,204 26,643 6,510 Batting average 45.35 36.40 46.41 39.93 100s/50s 33/57 5/19 74/125 13/38 Top score 294 137 294 137 Balls bowled 18 – 294 18 Wickets 1 – 7 0 Bowling average 7.00 – 32.00 – 5 wickets in innings 0 – 0 – 10 wickets in match 0 – 0 – Best bowling 1/6 – 3/13 – Catches/stumpings 175/– 36/– 386/– 73/–
Medal record Men's cricket Representing  England ICC Champions Trophy Runner-up 2013 England and Wales
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 29 September 2023

Sir Alastair Nathan Cook CBE (born 25 December 1984) is a famous English cricketer who used to be the captain of the England Test and One-Day International (ODI) teams. Many people think he is one of the best opening batsmen ever in Test cricket. An opening batsman is one of the first two players to bat in an innings.

Cook holds the record for the most Test runs scored by any England player. He is also the sixth-highest Test run scorer of all time in the world. He played for the Essex team in England until he retired from all cricket in 2023. He also works as a commentator for the BBC radio show Test Match Special.

Cook played 161 Test matches for England, which is more than any other specialist batsman from his country. He was captain for 59 of those matches. He was the youngest player in the world to score 12,000 runs in Test cricket. He also scored 33 Test centuries (100 runs in a single innings) for England, which is a national record.

He was knighted in 2019 for his services to cricket, which is why he is called Sir Alastair Cook.

Early Life and School

Alastair Cook was born in Gloucester, England. His father was an engineer and his mother was a teacher. As a child, Cook was a talented musician and singer. He attended St Paul's Cathedral School in London as a chorister, where he sang in the cathedral choir. He played the clarinet, piano, and saxophone.

At age 13, he went to Bedford School. His love for music was soon matched by his talent for cricket. When he was 14, the famous Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) visited his school for a match. The MCC was one player short, so they asked Cook to play for them against his own school. He scored a century (100 runs).

Over the next four years at Bedford, Cook scored 17 centuries and a total of 4,396 runs. His amazing skill earned him a place in the Essex cricket academy.

Domestic Cricket Career

Cook batting for Essex in 2005

Cook started playing for the main Essex team in 2003, right after leaving school. He quickly became a key player. In 2004, he scored his first century in a professional match.

In 2005, he had a great season. He scored a double century (200 runs) in a practice match against the Australian team. This performance helped him get noticed by the England national team selectors.

After he started playing for England, Cook played for Essex whenever he wasn't on international duty. He helped Essex win the County Championship in 2019. He continued to play for them until his full retirement from the sport in October 2023.

England Career

A Stunning Debut

In 2006, Cook was on a tour in the West Indies with the England youth academy. He got a surprise call-up to join the main England team in India. Another player had to leave suddenly, and Cook, who was only 21, was chosen to replace him.

He flew to India and made his Test debut just days later. In his very first match, he scored 60 runs in the first innings and an amazing 104 not out in the second innings. He became only the 16th English player to score a century on their Test debut.

Becoming a Star Player

Cook practicing his catching during the 2006–07 Ashes tour.

Cook quickly became a regular opening batsman for England. He scored centuries against top teams like Pakistan, the West Indies, and Bangladesh in his first year. By the age of 22, he had already scored four Test centuries, more than any other England player at that age.

One of his biggest challenges was the 2006–07 Ashes series in Australia. Although England lost the series badly, Cook scored a brilliant century in the third Test in Perth. He batted for over six hours to score 116 runs.

For the next few years, Cook was a reliable run-scorer for England. However, he sometimes struggled to turn his scores of 50 (a half-century) into centuries.

The Famous 2010–11 Ashes Series

Cook and his teammates celebrate winning the 2010–11 Ashes series in Australia.

Before the 2010–11 Ashes series in Australia, some people were worried about Cook's form. But he proved them all wrong in a spectacular way.

In the first Test match in Brisbane, England was in trouble. But Cook batted for over 10 hours to score an incredible 235 not out. It was a record score at that stadium. In the second Test in Adelaide, he scored another century with 148 runs.

By the end of the five-match series, Cook had scored 766 runs. He had spent over 36 hours batting, which is a world record for a five-Test series. His amazing performance helped England win the Ashes in Australia for the first time in 24 years.

Captain of England

Cook batting during the 2013 Ashes series in England.

In 2012, England's captain Andrew Strauss retired. Alastair Cook was chosen to be the new Test captain. He had a fantastic start. In his first five matches as captain, he scored a century in each one, which was a world record.

Later that year, he led England to a historic Test series victory in India. It was the first time England had won a Test series there since 1984. Cook also became England's all-time leading century scorer during that tour.

He captained England to another Ashes victory at home in 2013. However, the team then suffered a tough 5-0 defeat in the return series in Australia in 2013–14. Despite this difficult time, Cook continued as captain and helped rebuild the team.

In May 2015, during a match against New Zealand, Cook passed Graham Gooch to become England's all-time leading run-scorer in Test cricket. He stepped down as Test captain in February 2017, after leading the team in a record 59 matches.

Final Years and Retirement

Cook leaves the field for the last time as an England player in 2018.

Cook continued to play as a batsman after giving up the captaincy. In a 2017 match in Melbourne, Australia, he scored an amazing 244 not out.

In September 2018, Cook announced he would retire from international cricket after the final Test match against India. He ended his career in the most perfect way. In his very last match, he scored 71 runs in the first innings and a brilliant 147 in the second.

He became only the fifth player in history to score a century in both their first and last Test match. When he retired, he was the fifth-highest run-scorer in the history of Test cricket.

Records and Achievements

Alastair Cook broke many records during his career. Here are some of the most important ones:

• Most Test runs for England: 12,472 runs.
• Most Test centuries for England: 33 centuries.
• Most Test matches played for England: 161 matches.
• Youngest player from any country to score 10,000, 11,000, and 12,000 Test runs.
• First opening batsman to score over 11,000 and 12,000 Test runs.
• Scored a century in his first and last Test match.

Images for kids

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  Cook playing for Essex in 2010

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  Cook batting for Essex in 2019

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  Cook bowling his first Test over against South Africa at Lord's.

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  Cook batting for Essex in 2014

See also

In Spanish: Alastair Cook para niños