5 batsmen whose average never fell below 40 across a 100+ Test career

#3 Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook: England's highest ever run scorer

So much has already been spoken and written about Alastair Cook in the past month that highlights how great a cricketer he was and what his contributions to English cricket meant.

Across a staggering career that spanned 161 Tests, the left-handed opening batsman battled through ups and downs and always came out on top when it mattered for his team. With 12,472 runs to his name after the century in his last innings against India, Cook ensured that he owned the record for the most runs by an Englishman by a clear margin.

After having begun well with a century on debut, Cook's lowest batting average of 40.88 came post his 37th match. In the 124 matches he featured in after that, not once did that figure come back any close as he ended with an average of 45.35.