Cook extends Essex contract
Thursday, 23 Oct 2008 12:23
Alastair Cook extends contract with Essex CCC until end of 2011
Essex and England opening batman Alastair Cook has signed a new two-year contract extension with his county until the end of the 2011 season.
Cook's existing deal was set to expire at the end of the 2009 campaign but he has agreed terms on a new deal which will see the 23-year-old extend his stay at his only professional club to date.
Although the left-hander has been only fleetingly available to his county due to his England commitments at Test and one-day level, Cook has still made valuable contributions this season.
He scored 95 in the Friends Provident Trophy semi-final victory over Yorkshire at the County Ground and then batted for a crucial 33 in their low-scoring final triumph over Kent at Lord's.
"I'm delighted to have signed a deal to continue my relationship with Essex County Cricket Club for the foreseeable future," Cook, who has an average of more than 42 in his three-year England career thus far, told the Essex website.
"I hope to play for England for as long and as much as I can but it's important to have the support of everyone at Essex, who are a county moving forward very quickly under [captain] Mark Pettini and [first-team coach] Paul Grayson.
"It's nice that I've been able to secure my future before going away [with England to the Caribbean and India this winter] and hopefully Essex will always be there for me.
"Winning the Friends Provident Trophy at Lord's was undoubtedly one of my highlights of 2008. Having grown up playing for Essex since the under-12s it was a special moment and hopefully the first of many."