Could a traditional 82mph English seamer be Ben Stokes’ side’s secret weapon in Australia as they plot how to regain The Ashes?
Essex bowler Sam Cook will make his England debut in this week’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge – live on Sky Sports.
The 27-year-old is poised to be rewarded for superb first-class bowling figures of 321 wickets at an average under 20 and the success he has enjoyed with the Kookaburra ball, both in domestic cricket and also on the recent England Lions tour down under.
The Kookaburra, which traditionally has a less prominent seam and goes softer earlier than the Dukes ball used in England, will be deployed in The Ashes, which gets under way at the Optus Stadium in Perth on November 21.
Cook’s impending debut has in part come about due to injuries to others with Mark Wood (knee), Olly Stone (knee) and Brydon Carse (toe) currently on the shelf and Chris Woakes yet to play this season owing to an ankle niggle.
That said, it is perhaps only injury that has prevented Cook from making an England appearance to this point as he was right in the mix to play against West Indies last summer before a hamstring injury checked his progress.
Cook has been in good form for Essex so far this season
Cook’s upcoming Test bow also suggests England are not focused solely on pace as they continue to rebuild their bowling attack in the post-James Anderson and Stuart Broad era.
While speed could be vital in Australia, it is not the be all and end all. Remember, when England last won The Ashes away in 2010/11, Anderson, Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan played crucial roles.
Australia’s Scott Boland, a bowler of similar velocity to Cook, averages 12.63 in Test matches on home soil, while the recently concluded Sheffield Shield domestic competition saw plenty of seamers who aren’t what you’d call rapid prosper.
Cook snaffled 13 wickets for the Lions in Australia this winter, including 3-58 in the unofficial Test against Australia A in Sydney as he removed three of the hosts’ top six.
Cook has succeeded with the Kookaburra ball, which will be used in The Ashes
He also made 23 breakthroughs with the Kookaburra across four County Championship rounds last season, using his array of skills to make up for a lack of speed.
Lengths, wrist, durability – what makes Cook stand out?
While it would be no surprise to see Cook shine against Zimbabwe and then possibly India later in the summer, there is plenty to suggest he could be of huge benefit in Australia, too – so what does the Chelmsford-born bowler do so well?
Sky Sports pundit and former Warwickshire and Leicestershire pace bowler Charles Dagnall said of Cook: “He is an English-style seamer, that’s what he is. He hits a length – awkward lengths. He hits the splice of the bat and never makes you feel comfortable.
“He also nips the ball off the seam both ways so batters are unsure whether to play or not, thinking ‘will I be leg before or nick off?’ He forces that indecision. His great wrist means the ball can spring off a length, which can be so, so dangerous.
“He is a cannier bowler than he is given credit for, too. Just look at his results in franchise and white-ball cricket, parts of the game where 82mph bowlers can get hit out of the park, as I know all too well!
Sky Sports’ Charles Dagnall says Cook is a clever and durable bowler
“He is pretty durable, despite that hamstring injury last year, and doesn’t have bad games or bowl bad balls.
“He has so much control and never lets you off the leash. England are thinking Ashes and he could do well there hitting the pitch hard.”
England national selector Luke Wright seems to agree, telling the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast recently: “People like Sam [Cook] are going to be massive going into Australia.
“We have never not thought about Sam Cook. Over the last couple of years, I’ve spoken to him a lot.
“Each time we picked someone else out of county cricket, we picked the phone up to Sam explaining why and that he was competing with Woakes and [Matthew] Potts, guys not necessarily 85mph-plus but bowling with high skill.”
Dagnall and Wright also credited Cook for shunning the riches of franchise cricket to go on Lions tours; Dagnall saying that move “sends the right signals” and Wright adding that it is “exactly what you want as a selector.”
Baker rises up England pecking order
But Cook is not nailed on for a place on The Ashes tour just yet, with Hampshire’s former Somerset youngster Sonny Baker – who has played just five first-class games, four of them in the County Championship.
England are high on Hampshire’s former Somerset fast bowler Sonny Baker
The 22-year-old is already on an England developmental contract and joined Cook on that aforementioned Lions tour under head coach Andrew Flintoff in January, taking eight wickets in two games, including 3-60 in the unofficial Test match.
He then bagged a five-wicket haul against Surrey in April, with his victims including potential international team-mate Jamie Smith. If Cook’s skill has won England over, then it is the pace that excites them about Baker.
Dagnall added: “Baker is a skiddy fast bowler, not a hit-the-pitch type like Josh Tongue or Dillon Pennington but a bit like Darren Gough. He is raw but England seem to like him and I think he has been on the radar since he was 17,18, 19.”
Cook and Baker have certainly given England food for thought, not just this summer but as The Ashes looms.
England men’s Test matches this summer ☀️
All games at 11am UK and Ireland; all live on Sky Sports
vs Zimbabwe: Thursday May 22-Sunday May 25 – Trent Bridgevs India: Friday June 20-Tuesday June 24 – Headingleyvs India: Wednesday July 2-Sunday July 6 – Edgbastonvs India: Thursday July 10-Monday July 14 – Lord’svs India: Wednesday July 23-Sunday July 27 – Emirates Old Traffordvs India: Thursday July 31-Monday August 4 – The Kia Oval
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26 🏏
All times UK and Ireland
First Test: Friday November 21-Tuesday November 25 (2.30am) – Optus Stadium, PerthSecond Test: Thursday December 4-Monday December 8 (4.30am) – The Gabba, BrisbaneThird Test: Wednesday December 17-Sunday December 21 (12am) – Adelaide OvalFourth Test: Thursday December 25-Monday December 29 (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket GroundFifth Test: Sunday January 4-Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground
