England vs India 2018: 5th Test, Watch – Journalists Give Alastair Cook a Special Farewell Gift
Sep 11, 2018 at 1:52 PM
Alastair Cook, the retiring England batsman, was up for a surprise when he entered the conference room after the end of the fourth day’s play against India at the Oval.
Meanwhile, the hosts are in a strong position to finish the series at 4-1. They only need seven more wickets on the last day to rout India out of this Test while the visitor will be keen to save the match. Cook stitched 259 runs partnership with Joe Root, who scored 125, as England declared on a mammoth 423 for 8. In reply, India had stumbled to 58-3 in a massive chase of 464 for victory.
Alastair Cook had a grand end to his career as an England batsman scoring 71 and 147 in his final outing for England. He became the fifth player in the history to score a century in his first and the last Test.
Meanwhile, the journalists presented the retiring batsman with a special gift while he was interacting with them following his 33rd Test ton.
Towards the end of the interaction, the journalists gifted Alastair Cook 33 beer bottles as a token of respect.
Cook, who had announced his international retirement last weak, signed off as England’s highest run-scorer in Test with 12472 runs at an average of 45.35 with 33 hundred and 57 fifties to his name.
“On behalf of all the media, we appreciate everything you have done as a player and captain for England over the years, particularly the way you dealt with us,” a journalist said.
“There have been ups and downs but you dealt with us very professionally. We just want to show our appreciation for everything. We have got a little gift. You said to me once when we were out for a dinner that you are not really a wine drinker but you’re a beer man, a lager man. So we got you 33 [beer bottles for you]. And on each beer there’s a little message from each member of the media,” it added.
Alastair Cook, as humble as ever, accepted the gift and thanked the journalists for showing such immense respect.
Here is the video:
There was a gift for Alastair Cook at the press conference #ThankYouChef pic.twitter.com/UV6fFcM1JL
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) September 10, 2018