Cut domestic schedule to keep up standards - Cook

Sam Cook made his England Test debut against Zimbabwe in May

Essex and England seam bowler Sam Cook does not believe the current domestic schedule is "compatible" with high-performance cricket.

The 18 first-class counties have decided to maintain a 14-match County Championship with two divisions in 2026.

They rejected a proposal to switch to a 13-game format, with a 12-match plan backed by the Professional Cricketers' Association having been dropped already.

Speaking to BBC Essex earlier this week before the decision was made, Cook said: "I've been very outspoken on this issue. I spoke to the members relatively recently and tried to give them some insight as to where we're coming from.

"We need a reduction in cricket in order to maintain the standard of the game going forward."

Cook has only played six County Championship games this summer, taking 16 wickets, primarily because of England commitments.

But he missed the last three weeks of the season with a broken thumb, which forced him to miss the final of the men's Hundred as his Trent Rockets side lost to Oval Invincibles by 26 runs.

Cook believes a reduction in the number of matches would create "wiggle room" for players to have more of a break between them.

He said: "The way the schedule is at the minute, it just isn't compatible with a high level of performance. We're not talking about cutting five or 10 games....if you actually look at the number of days you're going to lose, it's very minimal.

"You are probably going to get better cricket, a better calibre of overseas players, better pitches, if there is that reduction in cricket."

He added: "The schedule for this summer, and the last few summers, is wrong and could be that much better."

Cook has not been selected for England's Ashes tour to Australia, having taken just one wicket at a cost of 119 runs in his sole Test appearance against Zimbabwe.

But he remains determined to fight his way back into the selectors' plans, having been one of the most prolific wicket-taking seamers in the English domestic game for several seasons.

"Like any other environment you go into, whether it's a franchise environment, whether it's an England environment, you learn and take on information, you work with new people and the exciting thing with that is bringing it back to Essex and hopefully putting in a really strong season next year," he said.

"For me, it's pretty clear where my role in that (England) set-up would lie. Obviously I want to break in again and solidify a place.

"Being exposed to the coaches and the way they play their cricket was really eye-opening and makes you want to be a part of it, and feel differently about how we play the game at a county level.

"For me it's been an incredibly valuable experience and you want to get better and keep improving and get back in there."