Alastair cook wife

Alastair Cook was never an especially elegant batter, but his determination, his longevity and the sheer number of runs he made cemented his position as one of England's greatest. As the Oval crowd in his final Test stood to give him ovation after ovation, his popularity and the respect he evoked were abundantly clear. A knighthood followed a few months later.

By the time he played his final Test, aged only 33, he was already England's highest run-scorer and century-maker in Test cricket; had taken the most catches (as a non-keeper) for England; and had set a world record for the most Test caps in succession: an eye-watering 159.

He scored 766 runs in seven innings in the 2010-11 Ashes to anchor England's first series win in Australia for 24 years. Two years later he became England's leading Test century-maker - hitting No. 23 against India in Kolkata, his third in three matches - and the youngest player to pass 7000 runs.

The series victory in India that hundred contributed to was England's first there for 28 years. Two home Ashes wins followed for Cook, in 20