6 Facts about Alastair Cook you probably didn’t know

Alastair Cook has his name written on record books all around the cricketing world. He’s known to be a disciplined batsman who scored freely all around the globe and became England’s best. Few can match his stroke play and will to succeed as he remained in form for most of his career.

England’s record runscorer and former captain has announced he will retire from international cricket after the series against India. It’s time we bid farewell to another modern legend of the game who has done great service to England, leagues around the world and to the world of cricket all over.

Many facts keep floating around the internet regarding sportsmen. There's only a few that remains little-known about these stars. Let’s take a look at six little-known facts about Alastair Cook you probably weren’t aware of.

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#6 Famous at a very young age

Cook was a chorister

Raised in a family that loves music, Cook was a singer in his younger days. He was a chorister who spent five years at St. Paul's Cathedral school singing treble in the cathedral choir. This led him to become famous at a very young age, and he even got a chance to perform for the Queen! His voice is featured on many CDs which can be purchased even today.

#5 A musician at heart

Alastair Cook (far right) practising the clarinet

It isn’t just signing that Cook excelled at. Cook is also good at playing a few instruments. He’s learned to play the piano and the saxophone at a young age. At age eight, he was granted a scholarship at Bedford School and was learning the clarinet at the time.

#4 The High Achiever

Aged eight, Cook made 110 out of a total of 127 for St Paul's - BBC.com

It isn’t just international cricket where he’s broken many records. He’s done so at all levels of the game and is recognized as a match-winner all over. He’d even broken all batting records at his school Bedford and ended up making 19 centuries for the school team in total

#3 He suffers from ophidiophobia

Cook doesn't like snakes at all

Alastair Cook isn’t afraid of any bowler in the world. He’s faced the fastest in the form of Brett Lee, Shoaib Akhtar and Shaun Tait, and the most skillful in the form of Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, and Graeme Swan. However, he is afraid of snakes to such an extent that he’s confessed to having dreams of him getting eaten by them!

#2 Zimbabwean opening partner

Andy Flower coached the England team

He’s achieved more than most have at a very young age. Scoring 12,000 runs at the age of 33 is no easy feat. But Cook started impressing at a very young age. He made his first-class debut aged 18 for Essex and made his first half-century on debut while batting with former England coach Andy Flower.

#1 A wedding to remember

He chose to drive the tractor himself

Alastair Cook was born on Christmas day. He tied the knot to his teenage sweetheart very close to his birthday and on another iconic date. The two married on the 31st of December, 2011, and celebrated the New Year together. Interestingly, they drove away from their wedding into the new year on a tractor instead of a luxurious car or chariot, as his wife’s father was a local farmer.