Here are Joe Root's programme notes for the fifth Specsavers Test against India.
By Joe Root
It was quite an emotional few minutes on Sunday when Alastair Cook told us all of his decision to retire from international cricket.
You could see how much it has meant to him to have had the opportunity to play for England and represent his country for such a large period of his life. And every one of us is really sad to see him call time on his England career because he’s such a fantastic bloke to play cricket with.
It has been a privilege and a pleasure to know him as a person as well as a cricketer. It’s rare that someone who has given so much in terms of performance is also such a fine individual.
He wants to be part of everyone else’s success, not just his own, and that was evident when I took over the Test captaincy last year. He is the sort of bloke you want around and I am lucky to have played with him as long as I have.
Cooky has been a brilliant sounding board and someone to try to emulate. He has set the standard in training and given everyone a real example to follow.
As captain, he always led from the front and I’m trying to capture that in my own game. He has always had a clear understanding of how he wants to score his runs and he’s stayed true to that. He’s overcome adversity at times, which is a key thing about playing at this level – the game won’t always go your own way and it’s vital how you respond to that. His achievements should never be underestimated.
I’m really proud of how we’ve played so far, but we’re not done yet. We want to finish off this series with a win as a fitting way to celebrate an unbelievable career. But we also want to win to send a message to the rest of the world and show how serious we are about becoming a major force in Test cricket.
The support from both sets of fans has been outstanding and we’re always lucky to have such a great following from people who are truly immersed in the game they’re watching. We can’t ask for any more than that. Enjoy your day.
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