Alastair Cook: Ex-England captain scores century in first innings since Test retirement

Last updated on .From the section Cricketcomments96

Sir Alastair Cook
Sir Alastair Cook scored 12,472 Test runs for England

Former England captain Alastair Cook made a century in his first innings since retiring from Test cricket while batting for Essex in a pre-season game.

Cook, 34, who was knighted in the Queen's New Year Honours list, scored his 64th first-class hundred against Cambridge MCCU at Fenner's.

He reached his hundred before tea off 200 balls and was 150 not out when Essex declared on 387-5.

England's record run-scorer bowed out in September with 147 against India.

Cook hit 21 boundaries off the student attack and shared a fourth-wicket stand of 217 with Adam Wheater, who made 130 off 162 balls, including three sixes.

There were five other century-makers in games being played by counties against university teams in preparation for the start of the 2019 Championship season on 5 April.

England one-day captain Eoin Morgan made an unbeaten 61 off 69 balls for Middlesex against Oxford MCCU at Northwood, with Stevie Eskinazi retiring on 125 and Dawid Malan contributing 54.

Toby Roland-Jones then claimed an Oxford wicket with the new ball after missing almost the entire 2018 season because of a back injury as the visitors closed on 24-2.

The highest score of the day was James Hildreth's unbeaten 158 for Somerset against Cardiff MCCU at Taunton, while Durham's Will Smith finished with an unbeaten 148 in their 331-7 at the close against Durham MCCU.

At Derby, Harvey Hosein (a career-best 138 not out) and Wayne Madsen (123) added 187 for the fifth wicket as Derbyshire reached 398-5 at stumps against Leeds/Bradford MCCU.

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96 comments

  • Comment posted by The Laser Show, at 15:47 26 Mar 2019

    @4 Ed Jones. Except that KP did play in MCCU matches, he scored a century against Oxford back in 2015. And he captained Surrey when Cambridge gave them a pasting by 10-wickets back in 2011. Instead of trying to make in Cook vs Pietersen. Just keep it about the performance Cook put in. Otherwise you end up sounding a bit like a reverse Piers Morgan.

  • Comment posted by Coolverine, at 16:43 26 Mar 2019

    Cook's a class act on and off the pitch, good for him.

  • Comment posted by russpointes, at 15:54 26 Mar 2019

    Well and played. Cook has always been a class act and his natural habitat is at the crease. I wish him well.

  • Comment posted by Davethewave, at 16:14 26 Mar 2019

    Still the best opening bat we've got - by a country mile.
    Oh, and Hildreth also got a ton today - not that it matters.

  • Comment posted by West Country White, at 16:31 26 Mar 2019

    Very young to have retired from Test cricket. And no other opener looks the part. Would the Aussies rather be bowling at Cook or Jennings and Burns? Wish he was still in the England team.

  • Comment posted by Ed Jones, at 15:37 26 Mar 2019

    I am biased as I am an Essex fan - but the people saying "its only the University" should remember that that makes it even more positive. He hasn't played the big star & said "I'm not turning up or trying", he is still professional enough to give of his very best. I doubt if a certain K***n P*****sen would have gone anywhere near this fixture, even though his club were preparing for the new season

  • Comment posted by George, at 15:37 26 Mar 2019

    Come back

  • Comment posted by Eddie, at 17:11 26 Mar 2019

    Not quite sure why there is all this bile. OK I agree not really worth an HYS (but then most of P.Mc's HYS's are not worth much). However, AC spent 12 years at the top of the order for the national team. Surely he is allowed to spend time with his young family and enjoy seeing them grow up. You are a long time retired but kids grow up so fast absent dads miss so much. I know I was one of them!

  • Comment posted by BillM, at 18:14 26 Mar 2019

    Cook remains by far the best first class opening batsmen England have. In all likelihood, given the state of the county game, that will still be true in ten years time.

    Would be great if he regained his hunger for Test cricket & wanted to come back. Maybe the upcoming long overdue change in management could be the catalyst he needs.

  • Comment posted by Smiffy060663, at 16:33 26 Mar 2019

    Still the best English opener by a country mile and the ONLY one who could do a proper job in the tests - maybe the next England coach can persuade him to come back ... dreading the Ashes with our current crop of "so-called" batsmen ... the Aussies are going to have us 2 or 3 down for 20-odd every time we bat.

  • Comment posted by Adamski, at 17:01 26 Mar 2019

    @26 In the list of highest run makers of all time, Cook is fifth....

    Tendulkar, Ponting, Kalis, Dravid, Cook.

    Out of his depth???

  • Comment posted by PairOfJacks, at 06:19 27 Mar 2019

    @67, absurdly packed it in? He carried that batting line up for years, unecessarily took the blame for the KP saga, what more do you want from the guy? He said himself that he had lost the edge, should he carry on purely because there is no one else? That's not fair on him

  • Comment posted by Neilinabbey, at 15:32 26 Mar 2019

    Or perhaps it does. Essex are not playing Cambridge University, they are playing Cambridge MCCU; most of the team will be from Anglia Ruskin University, not Cambridge.

  • Comment posted by toutlaw86, at 16:42 26 Mar 2019

    He was too young to retire - should have had the winter off to recharge his batteries and come back for the ashes.

    No reason to retire when fit and healthy. You're a long time retired - make the absolute most of your career while you can!

  • Comment posted by Matt77, at 16:15 26 Mar 2019

    @1 "Not really sure this requires a HYS!"

    And yet you comment 😂

  • Comment posted by Harry178, at 11:26 27 Mar 2019

    Cook = class, both on and off the pitch.
    Also I wonder how many other ex-captains of their country that hold the record for runs scored would put themselves in a warm up game?
    Well done chef

  • Comment posted by Michael D, at 17:54 26 Mar 2019

    I would settle for a century against anyone in March

  • Comment posted by Geordiemunro86, at 15:53 26 Mar 2019

    Still showing his class, bit worried as the first game of the season hes coming to us. The way our bowlers have bowled today and yest at Hove we'll never get him out.

  • Comment posted by Paul Sutton , at 19:24 26 Mar 2019

    COME BACK FOR THE ASHES AC!!!!!!

  • Comment posted by Fred-at-Caxton, at 19:14 26 Mar 2019

    Don't knock him - we still don't have a better man to go in first against The Aussies

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