A biography for Alastair Cookhasn’t been written yet.
“Jonathan Agnew is a good person to learn off because he's a brilliant broadcaster and the calmness and clarity with which he does things is a real skill.”
“Parenthood changes things a lot.”
“Everyone has technical issues - you have them until you die - but you have to be aware of them in a certain way.”
“Without sounding arrogant, I achieved a lot more than I thought I would do.”
“That is one of the great things about Test cricket, the ball. Sometimes it swings conventionally, sometimes it doesn't and sometimes it reverses.”
“I have loved cricket my whole life, from playing in the garden as a child, and will never underestimate how special it is to pull on an England shirt.”
“Being a dad is best thing you can do, it's very exciting.”
“When I watch Twenty20 cricket, there's a different satisfaction. That hundred you get in six hours is a very satisfying feeling. A real triumph of skill. I don't quite see that in the 20-over game - or the 100-ball game.”
“The most important opinions to me are those that belong to the guys in the changing room.”
“If someone taps me on the shoulder and tells me they don't want me to open the batting for England, it's going to hurt.”
“It's quite nice to switch off and not see anything to do with cricket.”
“Franchise cricket is here to stay because of the money.”
“I do feel sorry for my younger brother, he used to field a lot.”
“You're there to score runs. If you don't do that over a period of time, people will look elsewhere. That hasn't changed and that'll never change, whether it's myself or Jimmy Anderson, you've got to play to a certain level to be picked for England or even Essex.”
“I like being outside and I like hard work.”
“Even when every Tom, Dick and Harry was calling for my head, I still felt I could get better at being captain.”
“When you're playing, every ball seems like the biggest event. When you're sitting back, you can see the overall picture better.”
“Test cricket gives ultimate satisfaction that I don't think any other type of cricket does due to the nature and longevity of it.”
“You want to score runs at the highest average you can. That's what motivates you to keep driving the standards.”
“You're always under pressure, that's what life is about. That is what playing international cricket or being a professional sportsman is.”