Alastair Cook reveals emotional moment he told teammates that his England career was over
Essex batsman Alastair Cook has revealed he broke down in tears when he told his England teammates that the upcoming fifth Test against India will be his last.
The 33-year-old will retire from international cricket after the game at The Oval, which gets underway on Friday.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Cook explained that he informed his England colleagues of his decision after victory in the fourth Test at Southampton.
"I was a couple of beers in, otherwise I would have cried more than I actually did," he said.
"At the end of the game I just said, 'Look, it might be good news, it might be sad for some, and it might be happy for others, but it's time and I've done my bit. If picked, the next game is going to be my last game,' and that's kind of all I said."
Listen to Alastair Cook's final press conference as an England player
Cook, who is England's most-capped player and is also their all-time leading run-scorer with 12,254 runs to his name, admitted that he had lost his "mental edge" and had been contemplating calling it a day for the last six months.
"Over the last six months there's been signs in my mind that this was going to happen," said Cook.
"I've always been mentally incredibly tough and had that edge to everything that I've done. That edge had kind of gone. That stuff that I found easy before wasn't quite there, and to me, that was the biggest sign."
Following a break from cricket this winter to spend time with his family, Cook will focus on his county career with Essex.
He's signed a new three-year deal with the county until 2021, and he says he's looking forward to spending more time in Chelmsford.
"I'm still going to play for Essex, and I'm really looking forward to playing there," he said.
"It's great that they still want me and I'm determined next year, after a break this winter, to go and score some runs there and help them to win some trophies again. That would be fantastic."