LONDON: Former England captain Alastair Cook announced his retirement from cricket on Friday, bringing the curtain down a record-breaking career.

The left-handed opener’s 12,472 Test runs is the most by any English batter and fifth in the all-time list.

After retiring from international duty in 2018, he carried on playing for Essex and won the County Championship in 2019.

However, his contract expired at the end of the recently completed domestic season and Cook has decided against playing on.

“It is not easy to say goodbye,” Cook said in a statement. “For more than two decades, cricket has been so much more than my job.

“It is the right time for this part of my life to come to an end.

“I have always given absolutely everything I possibly have to be the best player I could be, but now I want to make way for the new generation to take over.”