Alastair Cook: England job needs 100 per cent commitment

Alastair Cook admitted a sense of melancholy at relinquishing the England Test captaincy but knew it was the right time to stand down after feeling he could no longer give the role his all

Alastair Cook

London: Alastair Cook admitted a sense of melancholy at relinquishing the England Test captaincy but knew it was the right time to stand down after feeling he could no longer give the role his all. Cook ended his tenure on Monday after more than four years and a national record 59 Tests in charge of England.

He told Sky Sports News HQ: "It's been an incredibly tough decision to make. It's a huge honour to be England captain and I've loved every part of it, even the bad times.

"Leading England has been an honour for me but it is a job you have to commit 100 per cent to.

"There have been certain times throughout my four or five years that I've gone to the well and dug pretty deep and coming back from India, the way I felt then, I didn't think I could do it again and it's a job you can't operate at 95 per cent," Cook added.

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