The Oval stands for Cook as England's retiring opener says the perfect goodbye

SAM MORSHEAD AT THE OVAL: The hush became silence as Jasprit Bumrah entered his delivery stride. No one dared utter a word, no one dared take the risk of running to the bar, frankly it took a brave man to reach down for a pork pie

^{Alastair Cook hit his 33rd Test century at The Oval}

The applause lasted for more than two minutes.

Team-mates jumped from their seats in the dressing room, banging on the glass in delight; stewards abandoned their posts and turned to face the field of play; journalists scampered from behind tinted glass to register the magnitude of the moment.

Here were 17,000 people on their feet, refusing to sit down, even as Ravindra Jadeja readied himself to bowl again.

Alastair Cook looked to the sky, just as he had for each of his 32 Test centuries before, punching his fist, smiling the smile of a man whose mission had been fulfilled.

The Oval smiled with him, it was impossible to not. A hundred in his final innings, the sweetest of goodbyes, the perfect bookend to a wonderful career, 12-and-a-half years on from that debut ton in Nagpur.

^{Joe Root applauds Cook}

That he reached the landmark via overthrows did not detract from the occasion one jot. If anything, it was even more befitting.

What mattered was not how the runs came, what mattered was they did.

Cook has lived by that mantra throughout his Test career, grinding out innings where he might appear to have no right through a combination of persistence, concentration, stamina and pure bloody-mindedness.

That rare ability at the top of the order - the domain of very few batsmen in the game’s history - was never more obvious than in his final innings.

This was classic Cook - not particularly pretty but hugely effective. The accumulator, the grafter, the man who wouldn’t get out.

And for those who had chosen to be at the Oval, how good it was to see him say goodbye with his finest performance of the year.

Resuming on 46 not out overnight, he quickly made sure his Test average will remain above 45 by reaching his half-century and then edged in front of Kumar Sangakkara to become the highest-scoring left-hander in the elite format’s history.

^{Cook shrugs as the crowd refuse to stop clapping his century}

There was a smirk when the giant screen announced he had moved into fifth place in Test cricket’s all-time runscorers’ list but this was all foreplay. The main event was to come.

A tickle to fine leg. Ninety-one.

Jasprit Bumrah overpitched and Cook leaned into a straight drive. From the crowd came a booming voice urging the ball to get to the boundary faster, like a master summoning his hound. The ball obeyed.

Ninety-five.

Now the hush became silence as Bumrah entered his delivery stride, the audience captivated by the theatre. No one dared utter a word, no one dared take the risk of running to the bar, frankly it took a brave man to reach down for another pork pie.

Silence, bar Bumrah’s beating feet.

A tickle to fine leg. Ninety-six.

The anticipation was unbearable, yet no one said a word. Radio reporters issued updates avoiding all mention of “hundred”, “century” and “ton”; spectators laughed nervously as Joe Root set off for a single before changing his mind, just like they had held their breath at every shuffle down the wicket at Jadeja, and grimaced at a shooter that slipped under the bat.

^{Cook produced a memorable moment on Monday}

And then came the moment. A cut to backward point, a jogged single and a wild throw.

The roar, the relief, the ovation.

A hug from his captain, a handshake from Virat Kohli and back to the crease.

Still, the applause continued, no one was ready to let the moment go.

Cook, almost apologetically, walked down the wicket towards Root, shrugging his shoulders at the scale of the reception.

Maybe, to him, the crowd’s reaction was a surprise. Maybe, until now, he was not aware of his standing in the public eye. Maybe.

Certainly not any more.