Test- 1 March 2006 vs India at NagpurODI- 28 June 2006 vs Sri Lanka at ManchesterT20- 28 June 2007 vs West Indies at London

Jersey Number

#26 (England)

Domestic/State Team(s)

Bedfordshire (2002-03)
Essex (2003-2018)

Batting Style

Left-Handed Bat

Bowling Style

Right-Arm Slow

Nature on Field

Calm

Likes to play against

Australia

Coach/Mentor

Derek Randall
Graham Gooch

Favourite Shot(s)

Cut, Pull

Records (main ones)

• In December 2006, Cook became the first English player to score 4 centuries before his 22nd birthday.
• In December 2006, Cook became the first English player and second overall to score 1,000 runs in maiden year. Additionally, in the same month, he became the only Englishman to score 7 centuries before his 23rd birthday.
• In January 2011, while playing in the Ashes Test series in Australia, Cook set the world record for the most time spent batting in a five-test series; as he spent a combined 2,171 minutes on the crease, which accounts to a little above 36 hours.
• Cook set a new world record in December 2012, by scoring consecutive centuries in his first five Tests as captain.
• In August 2015, Cook became the first English cricketer to be involved in 50 Test wins.
• In May 2016, Cook surpassed Sachin Tendulkar, to become the youngest player to score 10,000 Test runs. At 31 years and 158 days old, he broke Tendulkar's record who was 31 years and 326 days old at the time of achieving this milestone.
• Cook became England's most capped player in Tests in October 2016, surpassing Alec Stewart's record of 134 matches. In addition, the following month, he became England's most capped Test captain, surpassing Mike Atherton's record of 54 matches.
• Alastair Cook is the 5th player, who scored century in his first and last test match. Four others are; Mohammad Azharuddin (India), Reginald Duff (Australia), William Ponsford (Australia), and Greg Chappell (Australia).

Awards, Honours, Achievements

• NBC Denis Compton Award (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
• Freedom of the City of London (2011)
• Member of the Order of the British Empire (2011)
• ICC Test Player of The Year (2011)
• Wisden Cricketer of the Year (2012)
• An honorary degree by the University of Essex (2013)
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) (2016)
• The second ever English player (after Ian Botham) to receive a knighthood in the Near Year's Honours.

Career Turning Point

Cook's consistent high- scoring performances in the domestic version of the game helped him cement his spot in the national team.

Personal Life

Date of Birth

25 December 1984

Age (as in 2018)

34 Years

Birthplace

Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England

Zodiac sign/Sun sign

Capricorn

Signature

Nationality

British

Hometown

Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England

School(s)

• St Paul's Cathedral School, London
• Bedford School, Bedfordshire

College/University

Not Known

Educational Qualifications

Not Known

Religion

Christianity

Food Habit

Non-Vegetarian

Address (FanMail)

New Writtle Street
Chelmsford
Essex CM2 0PG
UK

Hobbies

Farming, Cooking

Controversy

Alastair Cook led English team under a lot of scrutiny after their 3-0 victory at the 2013 edition of Ashes. The home side was alleged to have urinated on the Oval pitch following their long celebration on the ground. Australian media reports and further alleged that a number of English players took turns to urinate while others around cheered them.

Son- NoneDaughters- Elsie Cook (Born: April 2014), Name Not Known (Born: October 2016)Son- N/A

Parents

Father- Graham Cook (Engineer)Mother- Stephanie Cook (Teacher)

Siblings

Brothers- Laurence Cook, Adrian CookSister- None

Favourite Things

Favourite Pub

The Lansdowne in Primrose Hill, England

Favourite Destination(s)

Abu Dhabi, Morocco

Favourite Food

Rump Steak

Style Quotient

Car Collection

Ford Focus RS

Money Factor

Salary

£1.5 million (Retaining Fee: as in 2017)

Net Worth (approx.)

$8 million (as in 2014)

Sponsored

Some Lesser Known Facts About Alastair Cook

Does Alastair Cook smoke: Not Known

Does Alastair Cook drink alcohol: Yes

Alastair Cook (left) drinking beer

As a child, Cook was obsessed with music; he was a choirboy at the prestigious St. Paul’s Cathedral boarding school in London. Cook can also play a variety of musical instruments like Clarinet, Saxophone, Piano, etc.

Alastair Cook as a child

Cook’s musical flair helped him earn a scholarship to Bedford School, an independent school for boys in the county town of Bedford, where he was immediately appointed as the President of its Musical Society. However, music was soon eclipsed when the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) came to play against the Bedford XI. The visitors were a man short and drafted the 14-year-old Cook to play against his own school. Cook went on to score a century in this match.

Alastair Cook during his schooling

Over the next four years, Cook hit 17 centuries and 2 double tons, and scored 4,396 runs at an average of 87.90, this time for his own school.

Cook represented England at the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2004. Not only did he score two centuries during the tournament, but also helped his team to a spot in the semi-finals.

At the U-19 platform, Cook was a regular bowler. In a U-19 Test against South Africa in 2003, he dismissed future Proteas stars JP Duminy and AB de Villiers; Duminy was dismissed at 116, while AB de Villiers got out on 99.

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

Cook also holds the record of being the youngest Englishman to score 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 and 6,000 Test runs.

Captain Cook batted 836 minutes to score 263 in the first innings of a match against Pakistan during England’s tour of UAE in 2015. This performance marked the third longest innings of all time.

He loves sweets and once admitted to stealing penny sweets from the corner shop when he was younger.

Alastair Cook is a really good ‘Cook,’ according to his team-mates. Co-incidentally, apart from being a cricketer and a musician, Cook is also a great chef (cook). Hence his nickname-“Chef“.

He is too afraid of snakes and often complains of having a recurring nightmare about being eaten by them.

A Philanthropist by heart, Cook has joined hands with many charitable organizations. He once posed nude alongside fellow cricketers James Anderson and Stuart Broad to help raise awareness for testicular cancer on behalf of the Everyman Campaign.