Cook says Swann made 'brave decision' to retire 'in middle of Ashes series'

England captain Alastair Cook has said that spinner Graeme Swann made a brave decision to quit cricket in the middle of an Ashes series and he respects it.

According to the Guardian, Cook did not sound like a man who had been left in the lurch by the sudden retirement of Graeme Swann.

After Brisbane he lost his No3 batsman, Jonathan Trott, who hopes to return to Test cricket; after Perth his best spin bowler has decided to head for home, never again to don his England cap, the report said.

Yet amid all this, Cook remains remarkably sanguine and simply grateful for the contribution of Swann over the last five years, the report added.

He said that knowing someone was never going to pull on an England shirt again must be quite a scary feeling, especially when someone was making that decision himself.

He added that it is a very brave decision from Swann but the player didn't feel he could perform up the standards he had set for himself, and that the spinner would be missed hugely.