Alastair Cook had ‘serious appetite for runs’, tweets Steve Smith

England opener Alastair Cook’s decision to quit international cricket at the end of the ongoing Test series has been quite a shocker for the cricketing world. However, there has been no dearth of tributes pouring in for one of the most prolific scorers in modern-day cricket from all corner of the world. Former Australian captain Steve Smith has also saluted the 33-year-old cricketer who has succeeded both as a batsman and a captain.

Cook has scored 12,254 runs in 160 Tests that he played since 2006 after scoring a century on debut against India in Nagpur. He has scored those runs at an average of 44.88 with the highest score of 294 scored against India in Birmingham in 2011. Overall, he has 32 hundreds and 56 fifties in the longest format. He is the only English batsman to have scored five-figure runs in Test matches.

‘Cook one of England’s best ever’ 

Smith, who is currently serving a ban over the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa earlier this year, showered praise on Cook on Twitter. He tweeted, “Congratulations Alistair Cook on an outstanding career. A man with a unique technique, incredible mental strength and a serious appetite for runs. Will go down as one of England’s best ever.”

Congratulations Alistair Cook on an outstanding career. A man with a unique technique, incredible mental strength and a serious appetite for runs. Will go down as one of England’s best ever

— Steve Smith (@stevesmith49) September 4, 2018

Smith recently participated in the Caribbean Premier League for Barbados Tridents. He was the captain of Australia when slapped with a one-year ban. Australian vice-captain David Warner was also banned for a year while batsman Cameron Bancroft was given a restriction for nine months.

Cook, who decided to step down after the final Test at the Oval starting September 7, said there was “nothing left in the tank”. He is having a poor run in the series with just 109 runs from seven innings so far with the highest score of 29. England, however, clinched the series in Southampton by winning the match by 60 runs and take an unassailable 3-1 lead.

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