Nine months after James Anderson’s retirement from Test cricket, Sam Cook, seen by many as the 42-year-old’s natural heir, looks poised for his first senior England call-up.
At 27, the Essex seamer has had to wait for his big chance, with his 318 first-class wickets at 19.77 since his debut in 2016 now finally looking like they will be rewarded this summer.
The strongest signal yet that will be the case came when Cook was left out of Essex’s squad for their latest County Championship match against Worcestershire that starts at Chelmsford on Friday.
😏 Sam Cook doing what Sam Cook does best…
Surrey 73/1 (30 overs)
🦅 #FlyLikeAnEagle https://t.co/OrtY3RcoGh pic.twitter.com/KCBtkbjiEA— Essex Cricket (@EssexCricket) April 5, 2025
It is understood this was on the request of England, who next week appear likely to name Cook in their squad for the opening Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge next month.
That possibility was flagged earlier this week when Luke Wright, England’s national selector who picks squads alongside managing director Rob Key and head coach Brendon McCullum, namechecked Cook during a chat with Sky Sports.
“To say we don’t value county cricket is not right,” he said. “Some people will be picked on county cricket – Cook, who we have never not thought about, has been phenomenal.”
Key has constantly spoken about Cook in recent years, saying only last month about his performances for the England Lions in Australia last winter: “I loved watching him bowl out there. He’s a fantastic bowler.”
So why now? And does a call-up for a bowler who bowls around 80 to 82 miles per hour mean a change in strategy for England’s Test team away from the emphasis on out-and-out pace that has been so explicit over recent years?
An ankle injury to Chris Woakes that has kept him out of action for Warwickshire this season has opened up an opportunity ahead of the first Test of the summer in Nottingham.
Yet Cook, who took 4 for 44 against Nottinghamshire on a flat Trent Bridge pitch last week in front of the watching Key, has long been on England’s radar.
His success with the Kookaburra in the County Championship last summer, including a 10-wicket haul at Trent Bridge during one of the four rounds where the Australian ball was used, and Down Under last winter, when he took 13 wickets at 14 across two tour matches and one unofficial Test, also made England stand up and take notice.
There is no doubt Cook can do it in English conditions. But proving his versatility with the Kookaburra in Australia means he is now considered a viable pick for this winter’s Ashes.
For that to happen he needs a run in the Test team this summer. Now appears the time.
England still hope to head to Australia this winter with a squad packed with fast bowlers. Yet they also know their attack needs variety and having a skilful bowler of Cook’s ability at their disposal would be useful, especially as Australian Test pitches have been spiced up to become more bowler-friendly in recent years.
After all, Australia’s Scott Boland, who operates at a similar pace to Cook, has had much success at home in recent years. Only last summer, Boland took 21 wickets at 13 against India.
There is a niche for an out-and-out seamer in Australia and Cook has now overtaken Surrey’s Aussie-born Dan Worrall in the selection pecking order.
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Ollie Robinson, another who operates around Cook’s pace, could have been that bowler in the Bazball set-up.
But issues with injuries and criticism of his attitude mean he has not played since the tour of India last year, despite an impressive haul of 76 wickets at 22 from 20 Tests.
Speaking to The i Paper last year, Cook cited Robinson’s success as reason for hope that England weren’t just all about pace.
“There’s a lot of bowlers who have been very successful in Test cricket who haven’t bowled 90mph,” he said.
“I’ve spoken before about trying to emulate what Robbo has done in the Test arena. It gives guys like myself who are of a similar skill set confidence.”
Cook has been smart, too. During a training camp in Abu Dhabi in late 2022 when the Lions spent time with England, he picked Anderson’s brains about the art of bowling.
“I just tried to learn as much as I could from that time I spent with him,” he told The i Paper at the time. “I was incredibly fortunate and learnt a lot.”
He also impressed coach Stephen Fleming, a former New Zealand team-mate and close friend of McCullum, during a spell with Joburg Super Kings in last year’s SA20.
All that hard work over the years, not to mention the impressive haul of wickets, now seems likely to pay off.
