Chris Stocks chronicles the events at the Oval when Alastair Cook reached his 33rd century in his farewell Test

Goodbye to all that: Alastair Cook accepts the applause from the rapturous Oval crowd as he reached his ton
PICTURE: Getty Images

As the crescendo of applause cascaded down from every corner of The Oval, Alastair Cook raised his bat one last time.
England’s players jumped up and banged on the dressing-room windows, the rest of the ground rose to their feet and the noise became deafening. If you ever needed a definition of a spinetingling this was it.
Two minutes earlie...