Alastair Cook Profile

Those in the know were saying that the tall, dark and handsome Alastair Cook was destined for great things very early on. A correct and stylish left-hander strong on the pull, Cook was thrown in at the deep end by Essex the year after he left Bedford School with a fistful of batting records, and has barely looked back since. His early England career was full of successes, although a barren spell in 2010 briefly threatened his place before a century against Pakistan at The Oval - a rather more frenetic affair than Cook's usual knocks - saved his skin for a while. He had looked increasingly vulnerable around off stump, with a tendency to play around the front pad proving costly. Cook had already lost his one-day place after a moderate run, not helped by his fielding sometimes being less than scintillating.

He captained England in the Under-19 World Cup early in 2004, scored his maiden first-class hundred later that year, and added a double-century for Essex against the Australian tourists in 2005. The following spring he was called up by the full England side when injuries struck in India. He had been in the Caribbean with the A team when the SOS came but, unfazed, stroked 60 and a magnificent century to complete a memorable debut in Nagpur. He remained consistent, seemingly at ease with the pressure, and was a shoo-in for the 2006-07 Ashes. Before that series even started Glenn McGrath paid him the honour of publicly announcing that he would be targeting Cook: it made for a tough baptism, but although he was hardly prolific (276 runs) he did manage a century in Perth.

Bowlers began to exploit that penchant for hanging on the front foot, but Cook still made his share of runs, with a languid ease reminiscent of David Gower, if slightly more stiff-legged. By the time of his 25th birthday on Christmas Day 2009 he had scored far more runs (3536 to Gower's 2548) and centuries (nine to Ian Botham's six) than any other Englishman of a comparable age. He hit three more Test hundreds in 2009 - but none of them were in the Ashes series, in which 95 at Lord's was his only score above 32 as the Aussies probed that front-pad problem.

However, further honours were just around the corner. Andrew Strauss took time off at the start of 2010, and Cook captained in Bangladesh, scoring centuries as both Tests were won.

Full name Alastair Nathan Cook

Born December 25, 1984, Gloucester 

Current age 25 years 346 days

Major teams England, Bedfordshire, England Lions, England Under-19s, Essex, Marylebone Cricket Club

Nickname Cooky, Chef

Playing role Opening batsman

Batting style Left-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm slow

Height 6 ft 2 in 

Education Bedford School

Batting and fielding averages

    Mat     Inns     NO     Runs     HS     Ave     BF     SR     100     50     4s     6s     Ct     St
Tests     61     110     7     4666     235*     45.30     9624     48.48     14     23     547     4     54     0
ODIs     26     26     0     858     102     33.00     1202     71.38     1     5     93     1     10     0
T20Is     4     4     0     61     26     15.25     54     112.96     0     0     10     0     1     0
First-class     137     245     21     10221     235*     45.62     19177     53.29     28     54             131     0
List A     75     74     6     2486     125     36.55     3232     76.91     5     14             33     0
Twenty20     28     27     2     834     100*     33.36     642     129.90     1     5     90     15     9     0

Bowling averages

    Mat     Inns     Balls     Runs     Wkts     BBI     BBM     Ave     Econ     SR     4w     5w     10
Tests     61     1     6     1     0     -     -     -     1.00     -     0     0     0
ODIs     26     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
T20Is     4     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
First-class     137         270     205     6     3/13         34.16     4.55     45.0     0     0     0
List A     75         18     10     0     -     -     -     3.33     -     0     0     0
Twenty20     28     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

Career statistics

Test debut    India v England at Nagpur, Mar 1-5, 2006
Last Test    Australia v England at Brisbane, Nov 25-29, 2010
ODI debut    England v Sri Lanka at Manchester, Jun 28, 2006
Last ODI    Bangladesh v England at Chittagong, Mar 5, 2010 

T20I debut    England v West Indies at The Oval, Jun 28, 2007
Last T20I    South Africa v England at Centurion, Nov 15, 2009 

First-class debut    2003
Last First-class    Australia v England at Brisbane, Nov 25-29, 2010
List A debut    2003
Last List A    Somerset v Essex at Taunton, Sep 11, 2010
Twenty20 debut    Middlesex v Essex at Southgate, Jul 1, 2005
Last Twenty20    Hampshire v Essex at Southampton, Aug 14, 2010