The Road Well Travelled: Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook, 27, is the captain of England's one-day cricket team. Making his England debut in 2006, he became the only Englishman to score seven Test centuries before his 23rd birthday. In the 2010/11 series in Australia, Cook hit 766 runs, a record for an Englishman in an Ashes series, as England registered their first series win Down Under for 24 years. A former chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral, Cook plays the saxophone, lives on a farm and is widely tipped to be the next England Test captain, after Andrew Strauss.
What was it like being a chorister at St Paul’s?
It was hard work but very enjoyable five years of my life. We got to sing in the Cathedral and we travelled to places like Brazil, singing. The standard of music was extremely high. I think it is one of the reasons I have been so successful in my cricket so early on is because it made you very disciplined. You couldn’t really make a mistake singing and that attitude has transferred into my batting. Without a doubt I think the whole experience helped to give me a big leap forward with my cricket from an early age. It was tough – you are singing 25 hours a week on top of your normal school work in quite high pressure situations for a nine-year-old, away from your parents. I wouldn’t change it: it’s made me who I am now.
How did you find out you could sing?
My mum and dad are quite musical and encouraged us to do music. We sang in the local church choir and the choirmaster said I had a good voice so why didn’t I try to get into one of the big London schools – so did and thought it was a day off school and it didn’t matter but I got in. I recorded about ten CDs with the choir whilst I was there and we sang with lots of people including Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.
And you play a few instruments too...
I can play the clarinet and the tenor saxophone and can hack around on the piano. In cricketing terms my musical playing ability is about the level of a decent club cricketer. When I was playing the saxophone I liked to play jazz music.
What do enjoy about farming?
I like being outside. I have always lived an outside life with the cricket and really like the countryside. A like the idea that a lot of it is hard work and about how to get the job done and nobody else is going to do the job for you and it is rewarding. I like it whether it's driving a tractor during harvesting or helping with the lambing. Also I really enjoy the lifestyle that goes with it.
What scares you?
Failure. Whether it be life in general or cricket. I think a lot of people are driven by failure and I am definitely one of those people. You never want to be the person who had a good start to his career and it never carried on and you want to be successful in all areas of your life. I always want to be happy – I always said that if I am ever not enjoying stuff then I will stop doing it – if I stopped enjoying cricket I wouldn’t play anymore because happiness in life is the most important thing.
As part of Ford’s sponsorship of your county side, Essex, you drive a Ford Kuga – what do you like about it?
Ford have been the main sponsors of the ground for a while now and it's great for the club to be involved with such a major brand. The extra bonus is that I get to drive a Ford Kuga which is a great car. I live on a farm with my partner and the Kuga is the best of both worlds: it’s great on- and off-road. I passed my test first time and the day after I went off to play cricket in Perth for six months. If I hadn’t passed I don’t know what I would have done because I had to travel so much in Australia. When I was there I was given an old banger with about 200k on the clock. It had a fluffy steering wheel and every time you changed gear there was a massive backfire. It was fun to drive but the worst car you have ever seen.
How do you look back on the 2010/11 Ashes now?
It was an incredible time for the team. A lot of planning had got into the series and because it hadn’t been done for such a long time the sense of history about it was very special. It was an amazing team effort. Everyone still talks about that tour and I am sure it will be one of those moments that even in ten years time we will still be talking about it. We were lucky because almost every player was in top form.
What has changed since the Ashes tour?
Not a lot – I get a bit more recognized now. That’s how it should be, as it is a team effort. After I got back the number of people that came up to me and said what an amazing achievement the team had done and that we made their Christmas and New Year. For all those people to come up to me and say that and to win the series was very special.
There is much talk about you being the future England Captain – what are your thoughts?
The same as always really. Andrew Strauss is doing a great job and is mentoring me. But you never know in cricket what will happen. If you get asked to do the job it is obviously very hard to turn it down. If the bosses think there is someone better for the job then they would have my full support. To me it is not about the personal glory of being the captain but doing the best job for the team. If people think you have the leadership qualities to do the job then you want to give it a very good go. If there is a better candidate I will understand – it is not my one massive goal in life – I just want to be part of a successful England team and to win matches.
Did you dream as a child that you would become England captain?
When I was about 11 or 12 I said to my parents that I wanted to be a professional cricketer but it seemed a long way off. Then when you sign your first contract you effectively become a professional cricketer but you understand that you haven’t done anything in the game. But I did dream of playing for England so I am living the dream which not many people get to do.
My dad used to play for the village cricket team and we used to watch his matches and also used to play a lot of cricket in the back garden with my brothers. I was lucky that my parents took us to tennis and badminton classes – the more sport you play the better your hand eye co-ordination gets.
Ahead of that Ashes series, you had had a difficult year and might have been close to being dropped. How do you deal with criticism?
You try not to read the media too much but you are your own harshest critic – you know when you have done well or done badly. You don’t need someone else telling you that. A little kid came up to me in the supermarket last year and said to me ‘You aren’t playing very well at the moment’. You had to laugh but you don’t want hear it. When most people go to work the only people that know how they perform are their colleagues – they don’t have people coming up to them in the pub telling what they think about the job they are doing. That is one of the challenges of dealing with it.
Photo: Getty Images
