Sam Cook has reached a milestone that proves he has had a very good career. No, not because he’s the only first-time cook in Essex. Instead, he is determined to demand it by broadening his horizons rather than waiting for the British election to come his way.
Cook has been a stalwart of the local scene since emerging with a host of silverware alongside 20-year-old Essex in 2017. He won the State Championship twice, the Bob Willis Trophy, the Vitality Blast and the Hundred.
The 265 first-class wickets cost less than 20 runs each. In fact, statistician James McCaghrey revealed that of all bowlers to take 200 County Championship wickets since 1990, Cook had the second-lowest average (18.04). The name ahead of him is Muttiah Muralitharan and the other names under 20 are Mohammad Abbas, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose. Good company.
He has become an excellent white-ball bowler in recent years.
But despite an outstanding CV that earned him selection for the Lions, the full England side never got the call-up.
Cook, 26, is optimistic but is more determined than ever to play for England. Neither tall like Ollie Robinson nor fast like fashionable Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue, he moves at a low speed of 80 mph.
“I’ve always had good conversations with England through Mo Bobat and Luke Wright,” Cook tells Telegraph Sport. “I was told pace wasn’t the problem. The problem I had was that the place I was looking for in the Test team was taken by the likes of Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Robinson.
“They’re on the same pace as me and they’ve been very good for a very long time, they’re the best of all time who are very good at staying fit. Spots tended to open up in roles where England looked to balance the attack. “This does not mean that those points will never be opened.”
Cook no longer thinks Test cricket is the only format in which he can represent England. To that end, it has been a “very conscious decision”, which England supports, to pursue franchise cricket opportunities this winter rather than play for the Lions. He played in the T10 League in the UAE last month and will play for the Joburg Super Kings in the South African SA20 in the new year. He even put his name in the IPL auction but did not make the cut.
“I have joined the Lions for the last few years and wanted to try something different, expand my game, experience new conditions, new environments and play against the best players possible this winter. I’m already picking up different things and it’s great to play in different conditions,” explains Cook.
“I did this for a few winters and still wasn’t picked. Isn’t this the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I don’t want to stand still. I want to push my way there and really see how I can improve as a cricketer.
“I am even putting my name forward for IPL. I was realistic that this probably wouldn’t happen. But that time of year, April and May, has been my bread and butter in the Championship. I’m very proud of my performance and I don’t want to take it for granted. But I want to add strings to my bow, I’m trying to diversify my game. “I don’t want to sit idle and wait for things to happen.”
Cook is also determined to pick up the pace a bit. This could be “even a mile or two an hour” or ensuring that his fitness means he can bowl faster for longer.
“That might mean managing how much I bowl,” he says. “I’m a bit older now and I want to manage my workloads so I can play my best and fastest for longer periods of time, rather than finishing every match.”
This demonstrates Cook’s view that he is not afraid of broadcasting: the current volume of cricket at county level makes it impossible for a fast bowler to play every game in every format. This is something he has been trying to do in recent years; He missed just one Championship game and three games in the Blast and Hundred last year due to injury. He is Essex’s representative in the Professional Cricketers’ Association.
‘We should play a little less cricket’
“There are two sides talking about this,” he says. “As a representative you speak for the dressing room and they share the same view. “My opinion really on the longevity of the game and how we sustain county and first-class cricket is that we need to play a little less.
“I totally sympathize with the members of the county who look at it differently, but I would like to ask, are we giving the fans the best possible product with the talent in this country? There are so many incredible cricketers in this country but I don’t think the program has helped us showcase that in the best light we’ve had over time.” No other country can travel like us with the volume of cricket.
“I’m also not one of the many fast bowlers who have played in every format throughout the season, so I’ve seen how difficult it can be from a selfish perspective.”
Cook believes that at its peak the Championship remained as busy as ever but T20 has taken off. While there were once game stages that players could progress through, rising standards mean this is no longer the case. Additionally, streaming increased overall accountability and each tournament became a showcase for the other. All this means that there is no phase of the season that is quiet for the top players.
“From a high performance perspective, it is not a conducive schedule for a fast bowler playing in all formats,” he says. “As a pitcher, you don’t have to try to overcome games. From a strength standpoint, you don’t have time to train, improve, or stay in shape because you’re trying so hard to recover between games.
“As a bowler recovering from a Championship match, realistically if you’ve played a four-day game you need at least three days to even semi-recover. It is currently four days on, three days off, and is played seven out of eight weeks. Then you have to travel all over the country, which slows everything down. Blast usually has games on consecutive days, with long trips in between.
“I don’t think you realize how physically broken you are when you’re in this. For me, it wasn’t until the end of the season, when I literally had three weeks off doing nothing, that I realized how broken I was. Then I went back to the gym and regained my strength.
“I think back to my performance at the Hundred and then at the Essex in September, I was physically broken. Our Q&A coach said going into pre-season that I now look a step taller when I’m running because my back has been so tight during the season. I look at your videos and I’m like ‘you look terrible to be honest’ “I think.”
Cook believes there is no immediate escape for Test match hopefuls to the “lucrative but fickle” series scene, but believes more can be done to make the county game attractive to players and fans. But for now, he will keep his head down to earn a place in England.