Cook fronts up for the final time in honest pre-match press conference

SAM MORSHEAD AT THE OVAL: Two days after announcing his retirement, Alastair Cook discussed how he had come to his decision, the tributes paid to him since, regrets from his time in office, the importance of family and the art of opening

^{Alastair Cook spoke to the media on Wednesday}

It was a valedictory address that touched on a range of subjects, and summoned a range of emotions.

Alastair Cook sat in front of a mass of media in the Ken Barrington Cricket Centre in the bowels of the Kia Oval and, for 20 minutes, let down the forward defence which has served him so well over a dozen years in the England Test team.

Two days after announcing his imminent retirement from the international arena, the country’s record runscorer and former captain discussed how he had come to his decision, the weight of tributes that he has been paid since, regrets from his time in office, the importance of family and the art of opening the batting.

In theory this was a pre-match press conference but it seemed entirely appropriate that there was barely a single mention of the series finale against India, which begins here on Friday.

This was Cook fronting up for the last time - barring a run glut in his farewell match, there is almost certainly no chance he will take guard against the fourth estate again - and, to give credit to Cook, he was in a mood to share.

“In this day and age it’s very hard to keep anything quiet,” he said of his decision to call it quits, admitting that had India won at the Ageas Bowl last week he would “have had to have kept my mouth shut”.

^{Cook is to retire from international cricket}

“When you do media and you’re asked questions, it’s quite hard to constantly lie. I’ve been pretty good at it for some time but there is certain stuff when you’re asked questions that you know you’re not being true to yourself about.”

Cook revealed that he had told his captain, Joe Root, that the Oval Test would be his last just before the start of the game in Southampton. Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, was informed midway through.

The decision itself, though, had been in his mind for some time - dating back to a tricky Ashes tour.

“It’s hard to put into words but over the last six months there have been signs in my mind that this was going to happen,” he said.

“I’ve always been mentally incredibly tough and had that edge with everything I’d done, and that edge had gone.

Essex confirm three-year contract for Cook

“I found it easy before and it just wasn’t quite there. To me, that was the biggest thing.”

Cook did give consideration to asking for a winter off but came to the conclusion that, come the spring of 2019, it was highly unlikely that even several months with his family on the farm would see him make a career about-face.

“You ask people along the way and they say ‘when you know, you know’ and I think that’s so true,” he said.

The rest of the England camp were told the news at the end of the fourth day’s play. Cook was emotional in the dressing room.

“I was a couple of beers in which I needed to be otherwise I would have cried more than I did. I managed to keep it together,” he explained.

^{The opener is England's record runscorer}

“At the end of the game, I said ‘it might be good news, it might be sad for some, it might be happy for others but it’s time. I’ve done my bit and the next game is going to be my last game’. That’s all I said.

“There was silence for a bit and then I think Mo (Moeen Ali) said something, everyone laughed and we got on with it.”

Laugh and get on with it: a fitting precis of Cook’s England career, the highs and lows of which map out like the Himalayan skyline.

So how does he reflect on one of the deepest troughs - the Kevin Pietersen affair and the squabbles which some prominent figures in the media have never let lie?

“I think it could have been handled differently,” he conceded. “I think the moment Andrew Strauss came on board and said he made the decision, for me personally that’s the best thing that could have happened.

“I have regret over it because it wasn’t for English cricket, the whole fallout of it.”

“When it was real tough, I didn’t throw the towel in. I still believe I was the best man for the job and the right man to be England captain at that time. It wasn’t easy and I could have taken the easy option but I didn’t and, and this is going to sound very selfish, I got the reward and the team got the reward with the Ashes in 2015 which was brilliant.”

Cook was asked whether the sacrifices he has made were worthwhile. He insisted those closest to him had sacrificed far more - allowing him a sense of continuity and solace amid the whirlwind life of a travelling sportsman.

^{Cook has signed a three-year contract with Essex}

“I was stubborn enough and I knew it was what I wanted to do. If you’re missing out on a stag trip or you’re missing out on a lads’ party… it was the right thing to be doing,” he said.

“You rely on other people a bit more. At home, with the family and the farming, all that wouldn’t be there if anyone I came back to if it wasn’t for people like Alice’s mum and dad and their friends and family, who help Alice out all the time.

“That’s been so important. They’ve probably put more of a sacrifice in than I have.

“It’s not just my effort - yes I’ve put it in on my game - but to have that to go back to is very special.”

What next, then, for one of England’s greatest batsmen? Cook doesn’t seem the type to follow in the footsteps of so many former pros and jump across the press conference top table, nor does he have a major inclination to coach.

A three-year deal with Essex will keep him busy enough for now, in addition to another new arrival to the family in the shape of his third child. And that’s enough to think about for the moment.

“I’ve felt that whenever this day came I would cross that bridge and that’s what’s happened,” he said.

“I’m definitely going to have a few months off now and go back home - I reckon I’ll be changing nappies.”