Former England captain Alastair Cook will call it a day after the fifth and final test against India at the Oval. Cook, who is England's highest test scorer and also the sixth highest run-scorer in the history of Test cricket, was undergoing a lean patch of form and even though he is only aged 33, his average in the last nine Tests read 18.62 which played a big part in this decision. 

He has one of the giants in England cricket and has been a prolific run-scorer in tests right from his debut century which also came against India back in 2006 in Nagpur. His best run can in the Ashes in 2010-11 when he was the leading run-scorer and helped England clinch the Ashes in Australia after a span of 20 years. He was also an instrumental player in the historic win in India in 2012 when he as a captain and as a batsman he stamped his authority all over the series.

Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook will play his final Test at the OvalReuters

However, he has struggled in the recent past and pacers have troubled him with the line outside the off stump. A man with a tight defence, Cook has fallen to the fourth delivery line and this did not help England in any way. 

His departure now leaves a big hole and England selectors have to start looking at different options. As many as 12 openers were tried as his partner after the retirement of Andrew Strauss, but the opening slot is far from settled.

Twitter paid its respect to one of the giants of modern day cricket: