Sir Alastair Cook warmed up for the Specsavers County Championship season by scoring 150 not out for Essex against Cambridge University in his first innings since his Test retirement.
Former England captain Cook – who signed off from international cricket in September with a 33rd hundred in his 161st and final Test against India at The Oval – notched 21 boundaries in his 248-ball innings at Fenner’s.
The opener reached his 64th first-class ton from 200 balls during a stand of 217 with Adam Wheater (130) as Essex hit 387-5 declared. SCORECARD
The 34-year-old penned a new three-year deal with Essex shortly after announcing his England retirement and is now set to remain at Chelmsford until at least the end of the 2021 season.
Cook quit international duty as England’s all-time leading run-scorer in Tests, with 12,472 across his 13-year international career, which began against India in Nagpur in 2006.
The left-hander – knighted in the New Year Honours List – scored 104 in the second innings of his debut Test and ended his England tenure with a ton against the same opposition, when he bowed out with a knock of 147.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Somerset’s James Hildreth – who hit 1,089 runs in Division One last season, a tally bettered only by Surrey skipper Rory Burns (1,359) – struck 158no against Cardiff University, before the Taunton team reduced their opponents to 13-4 by stumps. SCORECARD
England one-day captain Eoin Morgan (61no) and Dawid Malan (54) hit half-centuries for Middlesex against Oxford University at Merchant Taylors’ School – Stevie Eskinazi (125) also starring for the Londoners. SCORECARD
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