25 Facts about Alastair Cook - The Best English Batter

Alastair Cook is already hailed as one of the greats of English cricket. In fact, he always looked to be destined to become one from the day he began playing for England. He is a conservative and soft-spoken guy by nature and has few haters. But, when batting, Cook is full of flamboyance. No other batsman has been as consistent as Cook in the past decade for England. A man with the iron will and strong determination, Cook has embraced the captaincy responsibly beautifully. No England captain in any era was examined more closely for flaws and weaknesses than Cook. It is his belief in himself which has made him the cricketer he is today. Here are some of the most engaging facts about Alastair Cook:

1. Born on:

Alastair Cook was born on the day of Christmas in 1984 in Gloucester.

2. The choir boy:

As a young boy, Cook was a promising musician. Telegraph reported that his parents had gifted him a clarinet when he was only eight years old and he was a student at the St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. He earned a scholarship to Bedford School at 13 and was the president of the music society. He was a choir at the prestigious St. Paul’s Cathedral boarding school in London from the age of eight and has performed in front of the Queen, alongside famous New Zealander Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and as a soloist on a St. Paul’s CD.

3. First tours; but as a musician:

Music took Alastair Cook to Brazil and the Netherlands as a young boy on his first tour abroad.

4. First mentor Derek Randall:

Former England player, Derek Randall played a huge role in the development of Cook as a player. Randall was at Bedford school and mentored the precocious Cook into the player he is. Speaking to Guardian, Randall said, “I helped Alastair as a young boy, but he gave me more pleasure at this school than I gave him help, if I’m honest. He’s really moved on since he was here. It’s just fantastic.” His fellow students at Bed fort remember him as a batsman who would score at least a fifty every time he went out to bat.

5. Scoring a ton for MCC as a 14-year-old:

When Cook was 14 years old, he turned up for Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in a game against Bedford and smashes a ton. MCC did not have one player and young Cook was given the responsibility.

6. Playing for England Under-15s:

In 2000, Cook represented England Under-15s in the Under-15s World Challenge. Tim Bresnan and Samit Patel were also a part of the side.

7. Teenage Bradman:

As a teenager, Cook averaged 168 in his final season for club side Maldon CC in Essex.

8. England U-19:

Cook then went on to become a regular for the England Under-19s, leading them during the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2004 in Bangladesh. Cook hit two centuries on the tour where England reached the semi-finals.

9. Dismissing AB de Villiers and JP Duminy:

Cook is an occasional bowler and it was only in 2014 that he took his maiden international wicket. At the U-19 level, he was a more regular bowler. In a U-19 Test against South Africa in 2003, he dismissed future Proteas superstars AB de Villiers and JP Duminy. Duminy was dismissed for 116 while de Villiers got out on 99.

10. A ton against the future rivals:

At the age of 19, in 2005, Cook made a double century against a touring Australia side whose bowling attack was led by Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie.

11. Announces his arrival to Test cricket:

On his debut against India at Nagpur in 2006, Cook made 60 in the first innings and 104 in the second innings to become the only the fifth England player to score a century and a fifty on his Test debut. This feat also made him the youngest Englishman, at the age of 21, to reach a Test hundred in 67 years.

12. The best average as a captain:

Cook has a higher batting average among all the 31 cricketers who have led the country in the past half-century.

13. The prolific run scorer:

During the second Test against New Zealand at Headingley on Saturday, England captain Cook, 30, overtook Graham Gooch’s tally of 8,900 runs to become his country’s most prolific batsman in Test cricket. Cook has scored more centuries, 27, than any other England player. Kevin Pietersen is next on 23.

14. Cook’s Ashes:

England’s 2010-11 tour of Australia will forever be known as ‘Cook’s Ashes.’ The opener scored 766 runs at a mind-blowing average of 127.66, spending record 36 hours and 11 minutes at the crease to win England its first series in Australia in 24 years

15. Leads fightback with a marathon innings:

Captain Cook batted 836 minutes to make 263 in the first innings against Pakistan in England UAE tour. England’s captain had spent four minutes short of 14 hours at the crease and faced 528 deliveries with 18 fours. The innings was long enough to fly from the UAE to Sydney.

16. The fastest:

Cook was the quickest Englishman to 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 Test runs at the age of 26, Cook became the fastest Englishman and the second fastest overall to reach 5,000 Test runs. The only person he stands behind is Sachin Tendulkar. Cook is also the fastest to reach 8,000 Test runs.

17. Only T20 hundred:

In 2009, Cook scored a T20 ton against Surrey. His unbeaten 100 came off only 57 balls with 11 fours and four sixes.

18. A countryman at heart:

His passion for the rural life was evident Cook likes nothing more than mucking in on the farm belonging to his wife’s family in Bedfordshire. “Sheep are never going to talk to you about cricket,” says Cook. The polite, well-spoken Cook says that he always wants to be remembered as “a nice family man who was half-decent at cricket”.

19. Sweet Tooth:

Alastair Cook loves sweets and has admitted to stealing penny sweets from the corner shop when he was a youngster.

20. Leaves the church in a Tractor:

Cook married his childhood sweetie Alice Hunt in on 31 December 2011. The couple left church driving a tractor. The couple had their first child ‘Elsie’ in 2014. Two weeks later, Cook marked a hundred for Essex with a ‘rocking the baby’ celebration.

21. Major laurels:

Alastair Cook was awarded an OBE in 2011. He was also named among Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year in 2012.

22. Ophidiophobia:

The name might sound very unusual and weird, but it simply means ‘fear for snakes’. Cook is afraid of snakes and has a recurring nightmare about being eaten by them.

23. Famous namesakes:

There are two more famous Alastair Cook though they spell their names differently. Alistair Cooke was a very famous journalist, known for Letter from America. Then there is Alistair Cooke, Baron Lexden who is a well-known historian and a member of the House of Lord’s.

24. Uses his music skills for an animated series:

He used his skill with the saxophone to contribute to Fredonia, a CBBC animated series with music-based adventures.

25. Poses nude for cancer awareness:

Cook has donated his time to various charities including taking part in The Great City Race for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. In 2009, Cook modeled naked alongside fellow cricketers James Anderson and Stuart Broad to help raise awareness for testicular cancer on behalf of the Everyman Campaign.