'He's one of those guys you wouldn't mind your daughter marrying'

Warne heaps praise on 'wonderful guy' Cook

Australian spin legend Shane Warne has heaped praise on Alastair Cook -- who has stepped down as England's Test skipper -- saying the latter, who has been wonderful ambassador for the game of cricket, is one of those guys a person won't mind his/her daughter getting married to.

"He's been a wonderful ambassador for the game of cricket," cricket.com.au quoted Warne as saying in a Facebook Live post.

"He's one of those guys you wouldn't mind your daughter marrying, he's a wonderful guy."

"He's respected and I think he's gone about it with a lot of class," he added.

Warne, who has been one of Cook's harshest critics in recent years, further said that the left-handed opener went through some really tough times a few years ago when a lot of people thought he wasn't suited to the job.

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"But England backed him and he's done a great job over the last couple of years. He's respected by his teammates and the way he's conducted things on and off the field," the 47-year-old said.

"I think he's done a wonderful job for England and I wish him all the best," he added.

Cook, who led the England side for a record 59 Tests, stepped down as captain on Monday following much speculation over his future in the wake of his side humiliating 0-4 defeat at the hands of India in the five-match series.

The 32-year-old is currently England's most prolific Test batsman with 11,057 runs in 140 matches till date, and Warne believes he could surpass some of the best batsmen to ever lay the game.

"He's got a chance to break all the records now," Warne said.

"I think with that pressure off him it will allow him to make a lot of runs over the next few years."

Cook, who was appointed as the captain in August 2012, is England's most capped Test skipper so far, having led the side to Ashes victories at home in 2013 and 2015 as well as series wins in India and South Africa.

The opening batsman also led the one-day side for 69 matches between 2010 and 2014, which is another England record.

Image: Alastair Cook and Shane Warne

Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images