‘LITTLE CHEF’ COOKING UP A STORM

THE County Championship is back and one of its most unsung yet highly effective performers has reached an impressive landmark. When Sam Cook dismissed Yorkshire’s Tom KohlerCadmore at Headingley, he became the first English bowler to reach 200 first-class wickets at fewer than 20 apiece since Derbyshire’s Alan Ward in 1971. It was the latest example of the Essex bowler’s growing achievements that also saw him play for the Lions against South Africa earlier this season and, with a white ball, stand out for champions Trent Rockets in the Hundred.

It has long been felt Cook, 25, is not quite quick enough for the highest level, but that has not stopped Matt Potts and Ollie Robinson this season. What he does have is skill and, it should be said, one of the better nicknames on the county circuit. While Alastair Cook has always been ‘Chef’ at Chelmsford, so his younger namesake became ‘Little Chef’. More pertinently, he may have the ingredients to yet become an England Test bowler.