CRICKET legend Alastair Cook signed off his illustrious international career in style as he helped England seal a 4-1 series win over world number one team India.
Former captain Cook scored 147 at the Oval in his last ever Test knock to become only the fifth man ever to make a century in both his first and his last matches.
Cook thus finished his career in fifth place on the all-time run-scoring list with 12,472 Test runs, by far the most by an England player and also the most ever by a left-hander.
In all, the Essex man hit 33 Test centuries - another national record - and his eventual batting average stands at a still healthy 45.35.
Finally, the 33-year-old claimed 175 Test catches - as well as the solitary wicket of Ishant Sharma in 2014 - during his 161 matches.
Indeed, his retirement brings to an end a remarkable all-time record run of 159 consecutive Tests.
Yes, come rain or shine, triumph or disaster, Cook has been a reassuring constant in England's shaky batting line-up over the past 12 years.
Undoubtedly, though, Cook's zenith came Down Under back in 2010-11 when he scored an aggregate of 766 runs at a Bradman-esque average of 127.66 as England won an away Ashes series for the first time since 1987.
Cook won further Ashes series as captain in 2013 and 2015 - and, in his first campaign following his appointment as permanent skipper in 2012, he guided England to a rare away win in India.
Of course, there were also tougher times. The disastrous Ashes whitewash in 2013-14 obviously stands out - but it was another heavy away defeat, 4-0 against India in 2016, which truly spelt the beginning of the end.
Cook resigned the captaincy in the wake of that series but confirmed he was happy to drop back into the ranks as an opener under new skipper Joe Root.
Thereafter, there were occasional glimpses of classic Cook, and he scored two double centuries in the space of just over four months in 2017 against the West Indies at Edgbaston and Australia at the MCG.
Both of those scores came on fairly placid surfaces, however - and, tellingly, his average in 2018 before the fifth Test was just 18.62 from nine innings.
Admittedly, it has been a difficult summer against the new ball in England - but, when a press conference was hastily convened at Lord's last Monday, it did not take a genius to work out what Cook was about to announce.
From that moment, it was perhaps inevitable England's greatest run scorer would find a way to conclude his Test career with a final flourish.
After all, his even temperament has always been one of his greatest assets. It has helped him remain a threat and a prized scalp even when horribly out of form, and surely also helped him cope with any extra nerves on this marquee occasion.
Rather wonderfully, the Oval saw the very best of Cook on the fourth day of the fifth Test - the late cut and the pull were played with aplomb as he shared a third-wicket stand with Root (125) of 259.
But the slightly odd circumstances took nothing away from a magnificent sporting moment which was greeted all around the Oval with a rapturous standing ovation.
England eventually piled up a second innings total of 423-8 declared, setting a target of 464 for India to gain an unlikely consolation victory.
Almost immediately, though, the tourists were in trouble as new ball pair James Anderson and Stuart Broad reduced them to 2-3.
KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane guided their side to stumps without any further loss - but Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali struck before lunch on the fifth day.
Deeper and deeper into day five, India resisted - and things looked good for them when Rahul (149) and Rishabh Pant (114) put on 204 for the sixth wicket.
However, once they both fell in consecutive Adil Rashid overs, England made light work of the tail and the Indians fell 118 runs short.
To his great relief, the final wicket fell to Anderson who had been forced to wait patiently during the innings for his own moment in the sun.
Anderson had taken the first two wickets to fall at the end of day four but had gone wicketless during day five until he breached Mohammed Shami's defence and splattered his middle stump with what was the last ball of the series.
And so the Burnley Express surpassed Glenn McGrath as the most successful fast bowler in Test history with his 564th scalp.
Of course, England had already wrapped up the series ahead of Cook's farewell with earlier victories at Edgbaston, Lord's, and Southampton.
The first Test in Birmingham was a cracker as England squeezed home by 31 runs after bowling India out in the fourth innings for 162.
By contrast, the second Test was a cakewalk with overhead conditions favouring the hosts throughout.
The result - victory by an innings after bowling India out for 107 and 130 - was never in doubt but what was not clear then was if the Indians would subsequently continue to collapse in a heap for the rest of the campaign.
Creditably, Virat Kohli's men stood up to the challenge - and their 203-run win in the third Test will surely rank among the best ever performances by India on these shores.
All of a sudden, heading into the fourth match, all of the big questions were instead being asked about England - despite their 2-1 advantage.
The questions were valid, of course. Even in the first Test, the hosts were rocking on 87-7 in the second innings, leading by just 100, before the raw all-rounder Sam Curran struck 63 alongside the the tail.
Ultimately, it proved to be just enough - but, in an incredible selection own goal for the third Test, it was not enough to keep Curran in the team.
The 20-year-old was restored for the fourth game - but there was a certain familiarity about proceedings when England found themselves on 86-6 on the first day.
Again, Curran intervened with a 78 and got England to a somewhat competitive total of 246 - and, again, it was ultimately enough when the result was decided on day four.
For India then, this was a series of missed opportunities - and the 4-1 final score is more reflective of England's ability to wriggle out of tough situations through individual efforts than anything else.
After all, as good as it has been to beat the world number one side in exciting fashion at home, the England Test side under Joe Root remain a work in progress.
Undoubtedly, the two biggest holes are the openers' slots, and they have only just got bigger following Cook's decision.
The refusal to go into the next series away in Sri Lanka with two new openers may be the main thing to save the woeful Keaton Jennings.
And, while the Lancashire batsman can also point to his century on debut in a spin-dominated match against India in Mumbai, even on that occasion he was dropped while he was on 0.
More pertinently, Jennings's average and high score in this series were 18.11 and 42 respectively - and, if anything, his dismissals have been getting worse.
In particular, the lbw to Bumrah in the fourth Test and his leave to be clean bowled by Shami in the fifth Test were comically bad misjudgements not befitting of an international-class player.
And, certainly, any decision to retain Jennings for this winter feels overly generous - and misguided in the extreme.
For Cook, the selectors are now the least of his concerns - and he will no doubt look forward to tending his farm while winding down his cricket career at Essex.
Meanwhile, the fact that his wife Alice is imminently expecting their third child further reinforces Cook has made the right call to curtail his involvement in international cricket.
Undoubtedly, though, he will be an immediate miss to England - and the struggle to produce another player like him will go on for a long time.
Indeed, such was Cook's precocious talent, fitness, and determination, it may in fact prove to be an impossible task.
Test debut v India at Nagpur, Mar 1-5, 2006
TEST MATCHES
Thereafter, there were occasional glimpses of classic Cook, and he scored two double centuries in the space of just over four months in 2017 against the West Indies at Edgbaston and Australia at the MCG.
Both of those scores came on fairly placid surfaces, however - and, tellingly, his average in 2018 before the fifth Test was just 18.62 from nine innings.
Admittedly, it has been a difficult summer against the new ball in England - but, when a press conference was hastily convened at Lord's last Monday, it did not take a genius to work out what Cook was about to announce.
From that moment, it was perhaps inevitable England's greatest run scorer would find a way to conclude his Test career with a final flourish.
After all, his even temperament has always been one of his greatest assets. It has helped him remain a threat and a prized scalp even when horribly out of form, and surely also helped him cope with any extra nerves on this marquee occasion.
Rather wonderfully, the Oval saw the very best of Cook on the fourth day of the fifth Test - the late cut and the pull were played with aplomb as he shared a third-wicket stand with Root (125) of 259.
Bizarrely, Cook brought up his century with a five as a result of overthrows from Jasprit Bumrah.
But the slightly odd circumstances took nothing away from a magnificent sporting moment which was greeted all around the Oval with a rapturous standing ovation.
England eventually piled up a second innings total of 423-8 declared, setting a target of 464 for India to gain an unlikely consolation victory.
Almost immediately, though, the tourists were in trouble as new ball pair James Anderson and Stuart Broad reduced them to 2-3.
KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane guided their side to stumps without any further loss - but Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali struck before lunch on the fifth day.
Deeper and deeper into day five, India resisted - and things looked good for them when Rahul (149) and Rishabh Pant (114) put on 204 for the sixth wicket.
However, once they both fell in consecutive Adil Rashid overs, England made light work of the tail and the Indians fell 118 runs short.
To his great relief, the final wicket fell to Anderson who had been forced to wait patiently during the innings for his own moment in the sun.
Anderson had taken the first two wickets to fall at the end of day four but had gone wicketless during day five until he breached Mohammed Shami's defence and splattered his middle stump with what was the last ball of the series.
And so the Burnley Express surpassed Glenn McGrath as the most successful fast bowler in Test history with his 564th scalp.
Of course, England had already wrapped up the series ahead of Cook's farewell with earlier victories at Edgbaston, Lord's, and Southampton.
The first Test in Birmingham was a cracker as England squeezed home by 31 runs after bowling India out in the fourth innings for 162.
By contrast, the second Test was a cakewalk with overhead conditions favouring the hosts throughout.
The result - victory by an innings after bowling India out for 107 and 130 - was never in doubt but what was not clear then was if the Indians would subsequently continue to collapse in a heap for the rest of the campaign.
Creditably, Virat Kohli's men stood up to the challenge - and their 203-run win in the third Test will surely rank among the best ever performances by India on these shores.
All of a sudden, heading into the fourth match, all of the big questions were instead being asked about England - despite their 2-1 advantage.
The questions were valid, of course. Even in the first Test, the hosts were rocking on 87-7 in the second innings, leading by just 100, before the raw all-rounder Sam Curran struck 63 alongside the the tail.
Ultimately, it proved to be just enough - but, in an incredible selection own goal for the third Test, it was not enough to keep Curran in the team.
The 20-year-old was restored for the fourth game - but there was a certain familiarity about proceedings when England found themselves on 86-6 on the first day.
Again, Curran intervened with a 78 and got England to a somewhat competitive total of 246 - and, again, it was ultimately enough when the result was decided on day four.
For India then, this was a series of missed opportunities - and the 4-1 final score is more reflective of England's ability to wriggle out of tough situations through individual efforts than anything else.
After all, as good as it has been to beat the world number one side in exciting fashion at home, the England Test side under Joe Root remain a work in progress.
Undoubtedly, the two biggest holes are the openers' slots, and they have only just got bigger following Cook's decision.
The refusal to go into the next series away in Sri Lanka with two new openers may be the main thing to save the woeful Keaton Jennings.
And, while the Lancashire batsman can also point to his century on debut in a spin-dominated match against India in Mumbai, even on that occasion he was dropped while he was on 0.
More pertinently, Jennings's average and high score in this series were 18.11 and 42 respectively - and, if anything, his dismissals have been getting worse.
In particular, the lbw to Bumrah in the fourth Test and his leave to be clean bowled by Shami in the fifth Test were comically bad misjudgements not befitting of an international-class player.
And, certainly, any decision to retain Jennings for this winter feels overly generous - and misguided in the extreme.
For Cook, the selectors are now the least of his concerns - and he will no doubt look forward to tending his farm while winding down his cricket career at Essex.
Meanwhile, the fact that his wife Alice is imminently expecting their third child further reinforces Cook has made the right call to curtail his involvement in international cricket.
Undoubtedly, though, he will be an immediate miss to England - and the struggle to produce another player like him will go on for a long time.
Indeed, such was Cook's precocious talent, fitness, and determination, it may in fact prove to be an impossible task.
ENGLAND v INDIA 2018
ALASTAIR COOK In numbers Test debut v India at Nagpur, Mar 1-5, 2006
12,472 Test runs
294 Test high score
175 Test catches
161 Tests
159 consecutive Tests
59 Tests as captain
45.35 Test average
294 Test high score
175 Test catches
161 Tests
159 consecutive Tests
59 Tests as captain
45.35 Test average
33 Test centuries (including five double centuries)
24 Test wins as captain
4 Ashes series wins (two as captain)
1 Test wicket
24 Test wins as captain
4 Ashes series wins (two as captain)
1 Test wicket
| 01-04 Aug | FIRST Edgbaston | England 287 & 180 beat India 274 & 162 by 31 runs |
| 09-11 Aug | SECOND Lord's | England 396-7dec beat India 107 &130 by an innings and 159 runs |
| 18-22 Aug | THIRD Trent Bridge | India 329 & 352-7dec beat England 161 & 317 by 203 runs |
| 30 Aug-03 Sep | FOURTH Southampton | England 246 & 271 beat India 273 & 184 by 60 runs |
| 07-11 Sep | FIFTH The Oval | England 332 & 423-8dec beat India 292 & 345 by 118 runs |
Players of the series: Sam Curran (England), Virat Kohli (India)
ODI & T20I SERIES
| 03-July | T20I 1 | India 163-2 (18.2) beat England 159-8 by eight wickets | Old Trafford |
| 06-July | T20I 2 | England 149-5 (19.4) beat India 148-5 by five wickets | Cardiff |
| 08-July | T20I 3 | India 201-3 (18.4) beat England 198-9 by seven wickets | Bristol |
| 12-July | ODI 1 | India 269-2 (40.1) beat England 268 (49.5) by eight wickets | Trent Bridge |
| 14-July | ODI 2 | England 322-7 beat India 236 by 86 runs | Lord's |
| 17-July | ODI 3 | England 260-2 (44.3) beat India 256-8 by eight wickets | Headingley |
ODI series ENGLAND won 2-1
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