Alastair Cook

You need to come to terms with the fact that you are not an international cricketer anymore and that's certainly difficult to come to terms with. But then I love going to my farm and spending time with my family. Drop and pick up my kids from school and play cricket as well.

The beauty of cricket is that there are so many different opinions as to the best way to do something and at times it is easier to see something when you're not emotionally involved in the game and not responsible for the decision. You can go and have a cup of tea and look at it from a different point of view.

Franchise cricket is here to stay because of the money.

Even when every Tom, Dick and Harry was calling for my head, I still felt I could get better at being captain.

When I first came into the side as captain, I was accused of being quite conservative, quite negative, and just doing what Andrew Strauss did.

You don't get to the top in professional sport without being hard and tough, but I do that in my way. I don't shout or scream, but I am determined and I will push harder than 99 per cent of cricketers in training.

As cricketers we're judged on the average we have from being a 21-year-old who's just come into international cricket to the day you retire.

It hurts like hell when you come into a contest and you end up being second best.

In the end, playing for England means very little if you don't see the rest of the world around you. It is why I hate prima donnas and arrogance.

I am hugely honoured and proud to be receiving a knighthood.

I think it's very hard to shake what people first think of you straightaway.

It's quite nice to switch off and not see anything to do with cricket.