5 cricketers who announced a sudden retirement

Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook was arguably one of the most stylish Test batsmen for England. He was one of the few players to score a century in his first and the final test of their respective careers. He is the highest run-getter for England in Test cricket with 12,472 runs. While his captaincy in limited-overs cricket was below par, his notable series victory came in India in 2012, where the English side scored their first Test series win on Indian soil since the 1984-85 tour.

In May 2015, Cook passed Graham Gooch to become the leading run-scorer for England in Test cricket. His batting had hit a rough with him not scoring even a half-century in ten innings until the fourth test of the Ashes 2017-18. Cook broke the drought by scoring 244.

His batting still had been under fire with another Ashes series loss and the series defeat in New Zealand. Cook eventually announced that the fifth match at The Oval against India would be his final. He ended his career with a patient fifty followed by a flamboyant century in the second innings.