Overlooked for England’s calamitous Ashes campaign and then caught in the crosshairs of Iranian missile and drone attacks while on a Lions tour of Abu Dhabi, it’s been some winter for Sam Cook.
“It was an incredibly scary experience,” Cook says of the UAE tour that was brought to an abrupt halt amidst the chaos following Donald Trump’s attack on Iran. “Once it started kicking off, with the alerts and that sort of thing, it was pretty scary. But the security team were unbelievable in reassuring everyone and making sure that we got out okay. It really did put things in perspective in how irrelevant cricket is to the world at times.”
Among the England Lions coaches on that trip were Test captain Ben Stokes and former England all-rounder Moeen Ali.
And it is Stokes’ Test team that the Essex seamer is hoping to break back into this summer after his disappointing debut against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge last May, when after his first spell on the second day his pace dropped off alarmingly.
Cook struggled to maintain his pace on debut (Photo: AFP)Talking for the first time publicly about that experience, when he took an underwhelming one for 119, Cook is brutally honest about why he fell short.
“I just went too hard in that first spell, just desperate to try and take wickets, a bit of adrenaline and it goes to your legs,” he tells The i Paper. “My drop-off in that game physically felt a lot more than I’ve experienced previously. We wear the fitness trackers and my calorie burn and energy exertion for that day was miles more than anything I’ve experienced before.
“I didn’t feel overawed at all by the occasion. I felt like I deserved to be there. I’d earned the right to be there. It was more just the internal determination and just wanting to do well. The adrenaline just takes over and you blow your beans a bit too early.
“Looking ahead it’s about just settling into things a little bit more but then there’s also the physical aspect. You probably need to be fitter and stronger and better prepared for it so I’ve gone away and worked even harder in terms of running, strength, diet and all that sort of thing. It’s been a big learning experience so I’m sure I’ll be better prepared if I get the opportunity again.”
LOOK WHAT IT MEANS!Sam Cook has his very first Test wicket pic.twitter.com/9bSc5KvzL0
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 23, 2025The noises from England have been positive, with managing director Rob Key last week talking up Cook’s chances of being part of the post-Ashes rebuild.
It’s easy to see why too. With 328 first-class wickets at 20.64, Cook has been the pre-eminent English seamer at domestic level for the past decade.
Unlike some other players who have recently spoken out against the man management of coach Brendon McCullum and Key, Cook has no axe to grind with England despite the disappointment of missing out on the Ashes.
That news came in a phone call from former national selector Luke Wright, with Cook saying: “The comms have always been very clear for me in terms of having a good relationship with Keysy and those guys. I’ve actually spoken to them openly about what I’m trying to do better and improve. They’ve always been very clear with me.
“I didn’t expect to get a phone call when the Ashes squad went out to explain why you’re not in it. For me, that was really beneficial and it felt like you’re still included and still in their plans.
“So the experiences I’ve had from a communication point of view have always been really good. I know other people haven’t necessarily reported the same experiences but I can only speak for myself and I’ve always felt quite clear where I stand.”
Cook (left) is hoping to impress Ben Stokes in the County Championship early this season (Photo: Getty)There’s praise for McCullum, too, after Cook revealed a dressing-room pep talk he had with the coach in the immediate aftermath of that disappointing debut at Trent Bridge.
“I spoke to Baz after that Test,” he says.
“I was down in the dumps and frustrated I didn’t take more wickets but he said ‘Look, on another day a couple of those nicks go to hand and inside edges go to the keeper and suddenly you’ve got three or four-fer in your first spell in Test cricket and you’re looking at things differently’. So he was brilliant to talk to about just putting things into perspective.”
To get back in that dressing-room, Cook will first need plenty of wickets for Essex, starting in their first County Championship game at Hampshire on Friday. But the belief is he will get a fair crack at exiting England’s one-cap club this summer.
“You work your whole career to get that and no one can ever take that away from you,” he says. “But I’m not satisfied with that one cap.”
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