Alastair Cook: The England opener’s record-breaking career by numbers

Cook broke record after record both during his time with the captaincy and his time without it. In this spirit, The Cricketer pays tribute to the opener by painting his career by numbers, illuminating the key figures behind the man

^{Alastair Cook is retiring from international cricket after the fifth Test against India}

It is a sad day, a memorable day and also a happy day as we say goodbye to England's highest ever Test run-scorer and most capped player Alastair Cook following the news that he will retire after the fifth and final Test against India at The Oval that begins on Friday. The all-time great may have suffered through his fair share of dips in form but the highest class was also permanently etched across him with every stroke he played. 

Cook broke record after record as he notched up run after run relentlessly throughout his career, both during his time with the captaincy and his time without it. In this spirit, The Cricketer pays tribute to the opener by painting his career by numbers, illuminating the key figures behind the man. 

1 - Test wickets taken. The one victim? Ishant Sharma at Trent Bridge in 2014, strangled down the leg-side.

4 - Ashes series wins. 2009 (home), 2010/11 (away), 2013 (home), 2015 (away).

5 - Double hundreds scored. The joint-13^th highest ever scored.

9 - Ducks. Let us not dwell on this one too much, after all, he always managed to bounce back as he never recorded a single pair for England.

11 - Sixes hit in his Test career.

16 - Not outs in his Test career.

^{Alastair Cook has scored 32 Test centuries including 294 against India at Edgbaston in 2011 (pictured above)}

32 - Test centuries, the most for an England player.

44.88 - Test average. The 25^th highest average for an England player who’s batted in at least 20 innings.

57.96 - Best average against a single country, the 57.96 coming against West Indies.

59 - Matches as England Test captain. No one has taken charge of more England Test matches.

61 - Runs scored in T20Is across four matches. He failed to hit a single six in those games.

160 - Tests played in. His final game, at The Oval, will be his 161st. 

289 - Test innings batted in.

294 - Highest score in Test cricket, achieved against India at Edgbaston in 2011 as England piled up over 700 in their only innings of the game.

329* - Second-wicket partnership with Jonathan Trott at Brisbane in the first Test of the 2010 Ashes. The 12^th highest second-wicket partnership in Test history and England’s fifth best second-wicket partnership ever.

610 - Hours batted for in Test cricket, the equivalent of 25 days, not bad going at all.

^{Alastair Cook sweetly timing a four, one of the 1,420 he has scored in his career}

1,420 - Fours hit in his Test career.

1,937 - Most runs scored at a single venue with his 1,937 coming at Lord’s.

6,000 - Cook is the youngest player to reach 6,000 Test runs.

12,254 - Test runs, first on England’s all-time list and sixth in the history of the game.

15,519 - Runs scored across all formats in international cricket.

26,086 - Balls faced in Test cricket.