Alastair Cook was lauded as England's "greatest ever player" by former opening partner Andrew Strauss during his final Test before international retirement. Ex-captain Cook, England's all-time record run-scorer, walked out to a guard of honour from his India opponents after being presented with a commemorative cap by Strauss before play started.

Strauss, now the England and Wales Cricket Board director, addressed the England team before handing Cook a cap numbered 161 to mark the final international match. "That average, that consistency, the number of times he's passed fifty and obviously the hundreds and the match-winning hundreds he's got, all combine to make him England's greatest player ever in my opinion," Strauss said.