Sam Cook

• Profile

Nicknamed ‘Little Chef’, Cook burst onto the scene in Essex’s 2017 title-winning season, and has barely looked back since.

Cooks First-Class record stands at a barely-believable 308 wickets at an average of just under 20, across his 85 matches to date.

A 2019 and 2020 winner in the red-ball competitions with Essex, the right arm seamer’s talents translated effortlessly to the shortest format, gaining titles with the Eagles in 2019 and the Trent Rockets in 2022, where he was also Player of the Match in the final.

In the back-to-back summers of 2021 and 2022, Cook took 58 and 51 wickets in the County Championship, at an average of 14.43 and 16.23 respectively.

Aged just 27, and coming into his prime as a seam bowler, there’s still plenty of time for Cook to press his national case, having been a regular with the England Lions over the past few years.

Follow Sam on X @samcook09 and Instagram @s_cook16