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Sam Cook has a staggering domestic record with Essex - Getty Images/Andy Kearns
Prolific Essex seamer Sam Cook will sit out this week’s county action as he nears a maiden England call-up for the Test against Zimbabwe next month.
Cook, 27, has an extraordinary domestic record for Essex of 301 wickets at an average of 18.3 but has never been rewarded with an England call.
The England management have made much of their desperation to add pace to their bowling as they continue to adapt to life after James Anderson and Stuart Broad, though managing director Rob Key has said there is still space for a bowler of Chris Woakes’s or Cook’s pace in the low-80s mph, in what he calls a “balanced attack”.
Key was at Trent Bridge, where the first Test of the summer takes place, to watch Cook face Nottinghamshire last week. On a flat pitch, the seamer took four for 44 from 25 first-innings overs.
This comes on the back of another impressive year, which saw him excel with the Kookaburra ball when it was used in last season’s Championship, then be the outstanding bowler on this year’s Lions tour of Australia.
It is understood that he has moved clear of Dan Worrall, the Surrey seamer who played three ODIs for Australia but is now qualified for England, in the race for selection this summer.
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Dan Worrall now qualifies for England in the race for selection this summer - Getty Images/Ben Hoskins
A combination of poorly-timed injuries and the endurance of Woakes, who played all six Tests, meant Cook did not make a debut last summer, despite being in the mix. Woakes is nursing an ankle injury that means he is unlikely to play in the Championship this month, and may even affect his availability for the Zimbabwe Test.
It is understood that Cook is being rested this week by Essex, following conversations with England, who are looking to manage his workload in the build-up to the Test on May 22. Cook is not one of England’s contracted bowlers, but Essex are working with the national team’s selectors to give their player the best chance of a Test debut.
Of all bowlers who have taken 200 County Championship and Bob Willis Trophy wickets since 1990, Cook has the second-lowest average (18.3). The one bowler ahead of him is Muttiah Muralitharan, and the only others below 20 are Mohammad Abbas, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose.
Speaking on the Sky Cricket Podcast this week, England selector Luke Wright was full of praise for Cook.
“If you look at what he’s done in county cricket, it’s been absolutely phenomenal,” he said. “Pace has been a big thing in Australia, but Sam Cook was on the Lions [tour] and we’ve never not thought about him. Over the last couple of years I have spoken to Sam Cook a lot. Each time we’ve picked someone else out of county cricket we have picked the phone up to Sam Cook to explain why.
“We explain to Cooky that he’s competing with the likes of Woakes, [Matthew] Potts, those guys, because we want a varied attack. Those guys bowling with high skill, who are not necessarily 85mph but they still have a definite part to play in our bowling attack. Sam, Woakesy, they are going to be massive going into Australia.
“It was great to chat to Sam Cook pre-winter, and I give him a lot of credit. He gave up going to franchise cricket to try to prove his point again in the Lions. It’s brilliant when we get players doing that, because we get a lot of guys that turn us down for franchise cricket. It’s brilliant when players get away from just the money side of it, and prove their point, that is exactly what we want.”
Wright implied that England will select their squad for the Zimbabwe Test in the next fortnight in order to provide counties and players with as much clarity as possible over availability. Speaking last week, Key implied that an entirely different set of bowlers would be selected to face West Indies in the white-ball matches that follow soon after, to protect Test players ahead of the India series.
Gus Atkinson is due to make his first appearance for Surrey this season at high-flying Sussex on Friday, and Josh Tongue will once again turn out for Nottinghamshire. Brydon Carse is some way off a return from his toe injury with Durham, while Dillon Pennington has joined the walking wounded with a side injury.
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