Alastair Cook to retire from cricket this month with England icon to focus on two things

According to the Daily Mail, Cook will now quit cricket to focus on his farm and his punditry work.

He's hoping to bow out on a high, with Essex currently looking to add another Championship title to their collection.

The report says Cook may announce his retirement as early as Friday, with Essex needing to beat Hampshire to stay in the hunt for another crown.

They're currently in a fight with Surrey to secure the prize.

Cook apparently wants to 'bow out quietly' and doesn't want any fuss when he confirms the news publicly.

Essex have other ideas, however, with the team planning a 'low-key drinks reception' in honour of both Cook and Dan Lawrence, who is leaving at the end of the season.

Cook scored 12,472 wins in 161 Tests for England - becoming the country's record Test run-scorer in the process.

He also helped England win two Ashes series during his stint as captain, too.

Cook first skippered the country to glory in 2013 - and also starred with the bat in 2015 as they reigned supreme against their biggest rivals.

The 38-year-old also played a key role as England won the series in Australia in 2011, securing a 3-1 victory when Andrew Strauss was captain of the side.

Cook previously retired from international duty five years ago after scoring a century in his last Test match against India.

He opted to step down as captain the year before in order to focus on playing for Essex.

The report says Cook is held in high regard at Essex, with the club viewing him as a crucial member of their dressing room.

It's no wonder, then, that they're planning a nice farewell for the batting icon.

Speaking last month, meanwhile, Cook said that he'd considered returning to Test matches after having five recurring dreams in two weeks.

“I found my first year of commentating incredibly hard," he said.

"I felt so emotionally attached to those players, really close.

"You’ve spent so many times and so many conversations together, I didn’t want to ever betray their trust.

"I didn’t want to talk ill of them because I know how hard it is.

“I had a two-week period, and I can’t remember when it was, after a couple of years when I had five recurring dreams in two weeks about making a comeback.

"Enough for me to tell Alice, Jimmy, Rooty and Broady about it. And that was a really strange couple of weeks.

“I randomly started running again at five in the morning. I rang Jimmy and I spoke to him.

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"In the back of my mind it was always comebacks don’t go well and then Jimmy sent me 15 comebacks that went well.

“But then common sense prevailed because I started batting in the nets and thinking about it more in the nets and realising, it is different.

"The way I walked off at the Oval will never be beaten for me. It cannot be topped.

"The reason I stopped was because, for me, what else was there to really get excited for? A comeback, I think for me it would’ve been wrong.

"I think it would’ve put all sorts of unnecessary pressure on me in one sense and it might have been exciting for a little bit I suppose.”