Alastair Cook is a true great of the game, tweets Shahid Afridi

Reactions started pouring in after former England captain Alastair Cook announced on Monday that he will quit international cricket after the fifth and final Test against England at the Oval. England have already won the series after pocketing the fourth Test in Southampton by 60 runs, leaving the final game only one of academic interest.

The left-handed opening batsman has been one of the most phenomenal scorers England have produced in Test cricket in contemporary times. Making his international debut against India in Nagpur in 2006, the 33-year-old batsman went on to become the first and only English batsman to enter the 10k club. At 12,254 runs from 160 matches with 32 hundreds, Cook is by far the highest scorer for England in Tests.

He eclipsed his mentor Graham Gooch who had that record earlier and also looked a threat to Sachin Tendulkar, who is the worldwide top scorer in Tests with 15,921 runs. Cook averaged 44.86 in Tests and his highest score in the format is 294 which he scored against India in Birmingham in 2011.

One of the former greats who wished Cook a good life after cricket is Shahid Afridi. In a tweet, Afridi called Cook a “wonderful ambassador” of the game and wished him all the very best. He also did not forget to tell the English player that life has much less pressure after retirement. Afridi himself announced retirement from international cricket but came out of it subsequently till he quit in 2017 but never hinted at breaking it again.

A wonderful player who was a wonderful ambassador of the game! Alastair Cook you are a true great of the game, all the very best in your life after cricket. Trust me so much less pressure. 😇

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) September 3, 2018

Cook has done well as a captain & fielder

Besides being a prolific scorer, Cook has also been one of England’s most successful captains in Tests. He led his country 59 times, winning 24 matches and losing 22 while 13 were drawn. Only Michael Vaughan has led England to more wins than him while Cook’s winning numbers are tied with Andrew Strauss who though lost half the number of games than Cook.

Cook has also registered his name as the player who took most number of catches for England in Tests. He has taken 173 catches, 52 more than the next best Strauss. Cook, who said he had “nothing left in the tank” while revealing his decision, had an ordinary series against India. He managed just 109 runs in seven innings at an average of 15.5 with the highest score of 29.