Alastair Cook retires: 'A career we won’t see again in our lifetime,' Barmy Army pays tribute to England's highest run-scorer

“An absolute legend” is how Barmy Army, one of the largest and noisiest supporter bases in the world, describes Alastair Cook . Right from the time the former England captain made his Test debut in the Nagpur 12 years ago, the Barmies have forged a special bond with Cook. His retirement statement after the Southampton Test provided a glimpse of his relationship with the Barmy Army over the years. “There are too many people to thank individually, but a special mention must go to the Barmy Army and all supporters for their constant encouragement for the team and also a special mention to Graham Gooch,” Cook said in his retirement statement. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Alastair Cook has a drink as he celebrates winning the 2015-16 Ashes with fans at Trent Bridge. Reuters[/caption] As Cook walks into the sunset, Barmy Army pays its tribute to the nice guy who ended up being England’s highest run-scorer and century-maker in Tests. Here’s Andy Thompson, Tour Manager & Membership Secretary of the Barmy Army, talking on behalf of the Army to Firstpost. How would the Barmy Army sum up Cook’s career? Cooky’s career was the like that most of us won’t see again in our lifetime. What was Barmy Army’s first impression of him? Anyone, at a moment’s notice, that travels for 36 hours from the other side of the world without sleep and goes out in a completely different environment to the one he just left and grafts out a half-century in the first innings and a century in the second, on debut, is destined to be a Barmy Army legend, even if he played only one Test for England. Which was the first song that the Barmies composed for Cooky? The song was composed over a warm Kingfisher in a bar in Nagpur 2006 by Giles Wellington, Nicky King and Gary Fulton. To Baby Give it Up by KC & The Sunshine Band (1982) “You flew out to India When your country needed ya Century on debut What a find Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, naa Ally, Ally Cook Ally Cook Ally, Ally Cook” (repeat ad nauseam) One thing that separated him from the rest? He never failed to mention the Barmy Army by name at every away Test post-match presentation despite reported ECB disapproval. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Alastair Cook signs autographs for fans before the start of Headingley Test against Sri Lanka in 2014. Reuters[/caption] There were many great innings, but one innings that was Barmy Army’s favourite? Difficult question as there have been many and you would probably get a different answer depending on who you asked. But the career-saving 95 at the Rose Bowl against India in 2014 stood out for me. Favourite win as captain? Mumbai 2012. To come back from one-nil down and show that we were good enough to win a series in India after a 27-year wait. Not just on the field, there have been many good stories about him off the field too. Can you give an account of Cook, the person? An extremely respectful, thoughtful and friendly man who would always stop for a chat, a selfie or a signature. He would always donate his kit to us at the end of every series to auction off for charity. I once auctioned off a pair of boots that he scored a century in, for £2,200! Cook especially thanked the Barmy Army while announcing his retirement. Can you talk about his relationship with the Barmies? Any interesting stories? At the end of the 2017-18 series (which Australia won 4-0), he dragged most of his teammates out of the team hotel to the End of Tour Party in Sydney Darling Harbour. You could see the newer members of the squad such as Mason Crane, Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan were worried they may get some stick from the fans. Obviously, the opposite was true and despite the (bad) result, they were able to see that the Barmy Army supports their team with passion — win, lose or draw. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Alastair Cook creative. Image courtesy Ian Patchett[/caption] One memory of Cook that will stay with you forever? During the presentation after the series win against South Africa last year, the players were assembling for photos under the sponsors’ banner with the obligatory bottles of champagne to spray all over each other. Moeen Ali, a devout Muslim, began to walk away from the group as he didn’t want to be sprayed with the alcoholic drink. Cooky saw him leave and told the players, who were busy starting to open the bottles, to stop what they were doing. He called Mo back over to the group in order that he could be photographed celebrating the win with his teammates. Classy. One talk/chat that was special? I’m the treasurer of my Cricket Club and I am always looking for ways to raise money for the club. I saw Cooky in New Zealand and asked if he would sign 20 Gray Nicolls mini bats I had collected but clearly couldn’t bring on tour because of the weight. He picked up my phone, entered his personal mobile number and told me to get in touch when we got home. I did so and ended up posting the bats to his home and he returned them signed by a return of post. This helped me raise £400 for my little club’s finances. Three words to describe Cook, the international cricketer? An. Absolute. Legend What was the feeling and atmosphere in the Barmy Army camp with Cook hitting a century in his last every international innings? There were two guys in our group that were in Nagpur 2006 with tears in their eyes. It was a very special moment for them and everyone around us. We know that we’ve witnessed a very special career. Did you compose any farewell songs? No. But we got what seemed like the whole Oval singing his song. Barmy Army’s goodbye message? We wish Cooky all the best for the future. He will forever hold a special place in our hearts both for his individual achievements and those as Captain. He is very welcome to come and join us on the terraces and have a good singsong and a beer any time he chooses. Thank you, Chef.