ENGLAND captain Alastair Cook will return for Essex’s last match of the season, as they look to end the season on a high against Lancashire.

Having led England to Ashes glory this summer, Cook will want to ensure the fans at the Essex County Ground enjoy a positive end to the campaign, and cement third place in the County Championship Division Two standings.

However, Lancashire sit 55 points ahead of Essex and can still pip Surrey to the title having already secured promotion.

Cook made 48 on his last appearance for Essex, as they beat Gloucestershire by five wickets at the end of June.

And acting Head Coach, Chris Silverwood, is hoping to make it three wins and a draw as he looks to stake a claim to take over from Paul Grayson on a permanent basis.

He was also full of praise for Nick Browne, who secured a career best innings of 151 not out at Leicestershire last week, surpassing 1,000 first-class runs this season in the process.

“The final choice [of team] will be made once we’ve had a look at the pitch and the weather conditions,” he said. “It’s great to have Cookie back with us and there is now lot of competition for places but it’s nice to have that problem.

“We had a terrific win at Leicester where Nick Browne produced a career-best innings. He’s turned into a cracking player for us and is a great team member. For him to score 1,000 County Championship runs in a season is a superb effort and to play that match-winnings innings for us against Leicestershire was excellent.

“The win was part of a brilliant team performance when everyone chipped in with vital contributions.

“Naturally, I’m delighted with the way the guys have responded since I took over responsibility for the first team. I’ve really enjoyed taking charge of these guys. We all agreed when I took over that we wanted to set the bar high and that’s what we’ve done. The boys have all pulled together and we’ve played some excellent cricket. For me, it’s a shame that the season is coming to an end.

“It will be interesting to see how we get on against Lancashire who are obviously one of the best two teams in Division Two this year. The game can give us a guide as to where our skills currently are and offers us a reality check as to what we need to do to go further in terms of laying down a challenge for next year.

“We would love to finish with another win which would give us three on the bounce and guarantee us third place in the table.”

 

Essex Squad to face Lancashire: Browne, Cook, Lawrence, Westley, Bopara, Ryder, ten Doeschate, Pettini, Foster, Napier, Nijjar, Porter, Mickleburgh, Winslade