Alastair Cook retires: Career in pictures

Cook demolished India in 2011

A 778-minute dismantling of the Indian team in 2011, one which saw him come agonizingly close to a Test triple, formed the peak of his career. In terms of length, only Len Hutton had batted for a longer time for England, as Cook's 294-run marathon, his 19th Test century, flattened the Indian attack beyond repair.

Cook scored three hundreds against India in 2012

He took over the full-time captaincy after Andrew Strauss' retirement in 2012, and in only his first assignment as skipper, scored a painstaking 374-ball 176 at Ahmedabad. He followed it with scores of 122 and 190 in Mumbai and Kolkata to show his immense appetite for runs.

Cook walks off after his near 14-hour effort

If one thought that Cook's marathon effort against India in 2011 couldn't be eclipsed, he bettered it with an 836-minute effort, the fourth-longest knock in Test cricket ever. Those 263 runs, scored in Abu Dhabi against Pakistan, attested his reputation as a peerless great of the modern game.

Gooch was Cook's mentor and coach for a long time

Against New Zealand that year, he went past Graham Gooch's England milestone of 8900 runs, breaking a 22-year-old record, and sparking a popular debate about the possibility of surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's tally of runs and centuries.