Alastair Cook

Jonathan Agnew is a good person to learn off because he's a brilliant broadcaster and the calmness and clarity with which he does things is a real skill.

When I watch Twenty20 cricket, there's a different satisfaction. That hundred you get in six hours is a very satisfying feeling. A real triumph of skill. I don't quite see that in the 20-over game - or the 100-ball game.

You're always under pressure, that's what life is about. That is what playing international cricket or being a professional sportsman is.

Am I happiest on the farm or out in the middle? I am a cricketer, but the farm is a very special place and I absolutely love being in the countryside and getting away from the bubble. I like to think I'm a farmer, but there's so much experience that goes into that.

In one sense, what happens for me outside of cricket gives me that break - the farming means I have a really different life outside of cricket; it's not just cricket, cricket, cricket for 12 months of the year.

I have loved cricket my whole life, from playing in the garden as a child, and will never underestimate how special it is to pull on an England shirt.

The India series wasn't the only reason I retired. It was the culmination of 18 months where things had probably changed in my life.

The family farm plays such a big part in my life and I genuinely love going back there. In some ways I'd like to spend every day there, but there would be a big hole in my life if I didn't stay involved in cricket.

I've got that ruthlessness inside me. All good captains have to be able to say things like that - with good man-management skills.

The one thing about professional sport is it's all about results, and at the end of the day, if someone is employing you and you're not scoring runs or you're not taking wickets, they ain't going to carry on doing it, and there's no any other way of saying that; that's unfortunately the ruthless business of professional sport.

Relief isn't quite the right word but there's satisfaction at a job well done and I'm proud to say that I'm an Ashes-winning captain. Without taking it too personally, it has a nice little ring to it.

Sport is an entertainment, in one sense. But it's also a business.