Alastair Cook lavished with a whole lot of recognition for such a sheepish man as he receives fourteen standing ovations
SunSport's chief sports writer gives the verdict on the former England captain's final innings as a Test match batsman
AFTER Placido Domingo’s rousing performance of Othello in Vienna in 1991, the opera singer enjoyed an 80-minute standing ovation — including 101 curtain calls.
At a Russian Communist Party meeting in 1937, delegates leapt to their feet and vigorously applauded Joseph Stalin for 11 minutes.
Only when the director of a paper factory finally decided enough was enough and sat down did everyone shut up.
That evening, the man who brought Uncle Joe’s greeting to an end was arrested at gunpoint and sentenced to ten years’ hard labour in a gulag.
The stewards at The Oval yesterday weren’t as hard-line as the Soviets and the 19,300 punters weren’t as long-standing as Austrian opera-goers either.
But in chalking up FOURTEEN standing ovations during his 161st and final Test match — with nine of them coming yesterday alone — Alastair Cook was lavished with a whole lot of recognition for such a sheepish man.
Cook isn’t a tenor, a dictator, nor any sort of diva.
Yet these were attention levels Kevin Pietersen had been seeking for his entire career and never managed to attain.
The ninth of Cook’s standing ovations — and yesterday’s fourth — was the longest and most heartfelt, marking his 33rd Test century.
He admitted it was the one round of applause he fully took in. That Cook should record his first hundred of the year in his final Test innings — “in front of my family and friends, including 30 drunk Bedfordshire farmers” — displayed the perfect sense of timing every great batsman requires.
That landmark was brought up in slapstick fashion when, on 96, he poked through backward point for a single, only for fielder Jasprit Bumrah to produce a wild throw that hurtled rapidly to the boundary.
Cook’s most significant century, the one which probably saved his international career here in 2010 just before a monumentally prolific Ashes tour, was also brought up by virtue of four overthrows. And somehow that seemed fitting for a batsman who stood for substance over style.
This was an historic day for English cricket, with Jimmy Anderson accounting for two Indian batsmen late on, bringing him level with Glenn McGrath as the most prolific fast bowler in Test history on 563.
Only spinners Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble have more victims. After that, you’re into Stalin territory.
Praise from No 10
CRICKET lover Theresa May lavished praise on Alistair Cook yesterday as he ended his Test career with a ton.
Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister congratulated England opener for his “magnificent innings” of 147 at the Oval.
She said it was a “fitting end to a remarkable career”.
And the PM added: “Alongside all his achievements and a player and captain Alastair has inspired thousands of cricket players and fans across our country.
“He leaves a lasting legacy to British sport and I wish him all the best for the future.” The PM is believed to have left a meeting when the ex-England captain reached his ton – to witness the celebrations in the stands.
The famously private Mrs May is known for her love of cricket. Geoffrey Boycott was her childhood hero.
And after scrapping through last year’s Election she set out her stall as the “Geoffrey Boycott” of Prime Ministers in an interview with BBC’s Test Match Special.
Speaking last summer she praised the Yorkshire legend’s ability for “sticking in there and getting on with the job”.
Joe Root also claimed his first century in a year as he and Cook dominated an Indian seam attack finally cowed after an impressive tour.
Yet the fourth day of this Fifth Test was all about Cook as he bowed out with 12,472 runs at an average of 45.35.
He has more runs, more caps and more hundreds than any Englishman and is fifth highest run-scorer in world cricket.
Cook moved into that top five yesterday by overhauling Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara — prompting his eighth standing ovation. As has been mentioned many times since announcing his retirement, Cook is a throwback of a cricketer.
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A Test-match specialist for whom the crease is a grindstone rather than a stage.
A self-effacing man who reminded us of an era when ovations were scarce, when people tended to go through life making less of a fuss.
But after starting the day on 46, Cook upped the tempo, racing to his century by 12.44pm — a selfless display for a team playing towards a declaration.
Cook, 33, shared a 259-run partnership with Root, who celebrated his century with a far greater display of emotion than his retiring predecessor, as England rattled up 423-8dec.
Root, who was dropped on 94, leapt up and punched the air after nudging a single to bring up his ton.
Cook embraced him to acknowledge what was actually the most significant century of the day.
After all, the skipper must carry England’s batting this winter, while Cook tends to his flock of children and sheep.
The two fell in successive deliveries, Cook offered a handshake by each Indian fielder after finally going for 147 and giving a sweep of his bat around the ground as he earned his 12th standing ovation.
The 10th was before lunch, the 11th when he returned, the 13th as England came out to field and the 14th as they sang his name at stumps.
And the crowd had more cheering to do as Anderson and Stuart Broad ripped into India’s top order — leaving the tourists facing a 4-1 series defeat.
They’d have felt they got their money’s worth for those seats. Not that they got to do much sitting in them.
