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Cape Town - Former England skipper Alastair Cook is set to receive a knighthood in the New Year's Honours.
He will become the first England cricketer to be given the award since Ian Botham in 2007.
Cook, who turns 34 on Christmas Day, will be recognised for his contribution to the sport.
Cook announced his retirement in September and ended his illustrious 12-year Test career against India at the Oval.
The England batsman is the all-time leading Test run-scorer, bowing out with a record of 12 472 Test runs in 161 Tests, including 33 hundreds, at an average of 46.95.
Cook led his country for five years from 2012 to 2017 - winning the Ashes twice on home soil in 2013 and 2015.
According to Cricinfo, despite Cook's retirement from international cricket, he will still be available for his county, Essex, with whom he recently signed a new three-year deal.
And when he takes the field in the 2019 season, Cook is set to become the first active professional cricketer with a knighthood since Sir Richard Hadlee bowed out on New Zealand's Test tour of England in 1990.
