News about Alastair Cook

BOOTH BOOTH: Glomorgan captain Sam Northeast stole the show on the first day of the County Championship by defeating Middlesex at Lord's. Billy Root, brother of England Test star Joe Joe, was wicketless on the second wicket and Kiran Carlson 176 for the third. Glamorgan had reached an imposing 370 for three runs after being put in to bat at stumps. Ollie Robinson began his early-season with two spells against Northamptonshire, convincing the England hierarchy of his worth. Robinson, who admitted that he needed to 'change the story that I don't care' after an underwhelming return to the Test team in India in February, went wicketless on a truncated day on 95 for two. However, he seemed more alert than he had on England service, particularly during a second burst of 53-0. Both wickets were dismissed by West Indian Test quick Jayden Seales.

My mum was there in person, but she was also standing next to Jimmy's dad Michael in the stands, and she sent me snapshots of the two of them doing superstitious cricket activities like swapping seats or going for walks for good fortune in the name of getting him to that 700. We all know that it means absolutely nothing, but we still do it. It's a spectacular achievement, but not one that I can recall from another fast bowler versus another. When people talk about Jimmy, they generally emphasize that they have the dedication and the mental strength to keep going forward, and, of course, there are times when you can't play in the wrong climate, but we should really marvel at his talent, because that is what it has taken to get so many wickets under different conditions, challenging the best batters in the world for more than 20 years.

Following a difficult day in the field during Australia's fifth Test against India, Aussie cricket legend Mark Waugh (pictured right) has slammed Alastair Cook (left) after the former England skipper announced that his staff (inset) are 'not robots.'

Yes, I agree that taking on India in their own circumstances is one of the most difficult Test cricket tasks. It could be even more difficult than beating Australia in their backyard, which could be argued. Well, England has played a full part in a thrilling, wildly entertaining series with hardly any dull moments that have added to the arm's arsenal for the grand old game they are so keen to promote. But, if the dust settles on India's 17th successive home series victory, a streak that goes back to Alastair Cook's 2012 triumph, it will be a huge missed opportunity for the team to prove beyond question that Bazball works against anybody, anywhere.

NASSER HUSSAIN: Ben Duckett is the player who epitomises English cricket's mindset shift. Duckett talked about what he learned from England's first winter in 2016-17, when he toured Bangladesh and India and really failed. In Bangladesh, he played on some turning pitches and ended up with a 50 in a 1-1 draw, but was later harrassed by Ravichandran Ashwin of India, who swore out to him three times in a row, not helped by a tactical decision to get his front leg out the way and reveal his stumps in an attempt to open up the off-side.

NASSER HUSSAIN: To join the list of England cricketers who have won 100 Test caps, you'll need to be one of the all-time greats, and the journey requires many aspects: patience, knowledge, and mental toughness among them. You have to be a complete participant, reaching a world-class qualification and maintaining it while dealing with the mental and physical challenges of competing at international level. All the while away from home and away from family. By definition, being on this list indicates that you have made a significant contribution to English cricket. But Ben Stokes, the 16th Englishman on the incredible list, has accomplished the near-impossible challenge of ticking every single box as an international cricketer.

HELP NEWMAN IN RAJKOT: When asked on Tuesday if the draw, anathema to England in the Bazball period, was still off the table, Ben Stokes had a one-word answer, even if the pitch for Thursday's pivotal Test is a repeat of the one that resulted in high-scoring stalemate here more than seven years ago. 'Yeah,' said the England captain, one of six century designers in the drawn first Test at Rajkot of a series that began in 2016-17. India won convincingly. He had no reason to say anything else.

England won by a 190-run deficit in Hyderabad on Sunday to defeat India in a historic Test victory. Ben Stokes' side recovered after a difficult first two days with a spectacular 196 from Ollie Pope. In the first Test, debutant spinner Tom Hartley spun his team to a 28-run victory.

Ben Stokes' side recovered with a 196 from Ollie Pope as he came back from a jittery first innings to play one of his country's best abroad. Tom Hartley, the debutant spinner, made a comeback of his own by taking seven second innings wickets to spin his team to victory by 28 runs. With confidence on their side and a series win in India, England will now go into the remainder of the series, an unprecedented occurrence in the modern age.

PAUL NEWMAN IN HYDERABAD: From being battered for six on his first ball in Test cricket to becoming the first English spinner since Jim Laker to a seven-wicket haul on debut. Take a bow, Tom Hartley. What a brilliant result from Lancashire's young left-arm spinner, and what a triumph for England to kick off this five-Test series. It came at the end of a fourth day of epic drama, with just four balls of the extra half hour remaining and England completing one of the best comebacks in Test history.

After fans complained about their coverage on Thursday, TNT Sports has agreed to bring a full studio team to the final four Tests of his England's five-match series in India. Last week, the broadcaster only gained the rights to the series, and fans of TNT Sports didn't have a team out in India because of the last-minute nature of talks. In the meantime, TNT Sports host Matt Floyd was not seen by viewers at all, the toss was not shown live after coverage began five minutes late, and the lunch and tea breaks were largely used to show extended highlights from the day's play.

Fast starts, keeping India's spinners quiet, runs on the board and picking the right team! Those are the keys to touring success, as told to Mail Sport by England's heroes of 2012, when the last Test team to beat mighty India on their own turf.

When England plucked spinners Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir from the fringes of the county game for the Test squad traveling India, eyebrows were raised. Mail Sport takes a look at some of England's unexpected picks from the past.

RICHARD GIBSON: It was the last frontier, the zenith of a tenacious and ruthless ride that had earned top-ranked Test status for England's golden generation. To be the best in the world, you must conquer the best, and India is proving that to be the best. Of all the challenges that modern Test cricket has thrown up, none compares to the achievement of winning a series on the Subcontinent. India's home record over the past 20 years has been nothing but impressive. Not only by cricket's terms, but also when applied to any sport, and it puts the achievement of an England captaincy under Alastair Cook's tenure - and smarting from South Africa's decision to delete their official No. 1 tag from their previous summer's - into perspective.

On Friday, Joe Root led the retirement tributes to Alastair Cook, naming him his 'the greatest ever.' Cook, 38, began and ended his England career against India 12 years ago, when the two countries were divided. In 2018, Cook, 38, died on the international stage for the first time. You were the best ever,' from everything in between.' What you've achieved,' Root, who shared a Test dressing room with Cook on 74 occasions, said it's been amazing.' 'To have had the opportunity to play so many Test matches with you, under your captaincy, and even getting to the boss round a little bit at the end was so much fun.'

Sir Alastair Cook, the England captain, has announced his retirement from professional cricket after a 20-year career. The 38-year-old has called time on one of the most notable careers in English cricket history, as first revealed by Mail Sport last month. Despite Cook's retirement from playing Test cricket in 2018, he has played in Essex's County game for five seasons since then.

RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: In the end, if this is the end, it comes down to a little shuffle and a little nudge, as well as a tiny figure. Ben Sanderson's delivery hopped off the ground, the old boy was clipped to the gloves behind him, and he went. You might imagine that it was plodded. He ploded across the damp outfield under the grey sky, mingling with the few people who wanted to make a fuss. Alastair Cook, on the other hand, would not want a fuss. Well, this wasn't a crowded way to go - six runs in a losing effort in a county game at Wantage Road, lined by the red brick terraced houses and a few empty seats. On Thursday, there were no families in the Briggs and Forrester Family Stand. Essex and Northants are not many takers. Not much curiosity has been shown to what may be the last innings of a legend. And, well, that's probably how he would have liked it. A few more runs may have been helpful, but he doesn't have enough of them. A few more minutes at the crease, and goodness, he has spent his time there. But noise? He wouldn't like that. When lambing season comes, there's plenty of that. So we're off to a batsman who told us the way it was, but not so much about the way it is and how it's going.

Alastair Cook has already played for Essex for much longer than he expected when he said goodbye to England with a fairytale tale in his last Test. He pictured himself giving back to his county for one or two years before focusing on the family farm, which means so much to him.

COMMENT BY JONATHAN McEVOY: When did you last watch Football Focus?When did anyone? For several of us, it was a staple of rising up, providing us with an inside scoop into the day's matches when there was no other place to turn to. Saint and Greavsie, the only competitor - and a good one at that - at a time when you watched that channel or the other one - or Open University. It's a statement about the way we consume television in the modern age that Football Focus has gained sway. It seems that BBC mandarins, who appear to be keen to maintain it, are merrily harrying away at local radio, making it seem that they are merely content to survive.

BY PAUL NEWMAN: Sir Alastair Cook is expected to retire on one of England cricket's most prestigious careers. The former England captain will almost certainly retire next week at the end of a county season, but he still hopes for another Championship title for Essex. Essex may have to end their home season by defeating Hampshire in the chase for the title behind Surrey, as early as Friday.

Sir Alastair Cook, the former England captain, has been left'surprised' and 'emotional' after his colleague Stuart Broad's retirement. Broad is stepping away from all forms of cricket after 17 years at the top level, as exclusively announced by Mail Sport. And Cook, who was speaking to BBC's Test Match Special, could not hide his surprise when the news arrived at the end of day three of this final test at the Oval

STUART BROAD: Today, a few of our players will have to play out of their skins, but we've seen with this England team that anything's possible, and so we won't stop believing that we should level this Ashes series. This team features four of England's top fourth-innings run chases, and although we haven't been as strong against Australia this week as we would have liked, there is still a chance of making it 1-1. We were 55 for six in the first innings against New Zealand last year, 274 runs behind, but we still managed to win by just three wickets down.

Alastair Cook (pictured left) may have departed, but losing an Ashes Test in Edgbaston's commentary is a huge loss, if his reaction when in comment for the BBC is any guide. After Harry Brook fumbled a ball into the boundary to seal the tourist's result, a look of pure surprise told the tale.

Despite a late rally from the tail, LAWRENCE BOOTH: They didn't die three and a half hours later. The Australians won a Test that they had to win by 281 points due to a mixture of their combat spirit and England's generosity. According to history, teams don't usually chase that many, but this is a slow, lifeless surface, and Test cricket seems to be more prone these days to the grand gesture, partly because white-ball teams beat off such goals for fun.