Cook begins to blossom

Alastair Cook was not at his most fluent but is coming into form © Getty Images

Buy this photo

Alastair Cook hopes he is battling his way on to an “upward curve” at the right time for the first npower Test against New Zealand at Lord’s.

The England opener had to work hard for his first half-century of the summer at Chelmsford, though his best efforts were not sufficient for Essex, who collapsed to a 92-run defeat to the Black Caps in their penultimate tour match before the Test series.

Cook needed 114 balls to reach his fifty, which included five boundaries.

But after being dropped on nought on the third evening, he was relieved to have spent some significant time at the crease for the first time this season.

“It could have been a lot worse if Ross Taylor had caught me yesterday,” Cook pointed out.

“I’m very grateful I could spend a bit of time in the middle - and I hope I can use it well. As many nets as you have, as many throw-downs as you have, I spent two and a half hours out there.

“You get rhythm and time into your batting - and you can’t beat time in the middle.

“The last few games I’ve played, I haven’t really had that.”

With one more LV County Championship match to come before he is due to face these opponents again at Lord's, Cook senses his batting graph is improving.

“If you go and score three hundreds in your first three innings here, you might think, ‘I should have saved them for Lord’s’ - so I hope the curve is looking up,” said the left-hander, who suffered a scare when he dislocated his right little finger on day one of this match.

That minor injury is no longer an issue, however. “It’s fine,” he said. “I was very lucky that it went straight back in, and the swelling has all gone now.”

Alastair Cook, seen here caught at slip off Kyle Mills at Wellington, is not one to underestimate the Black Caps fast bowlers

Buy this photo

Cook is becoming familiar with these opponents after the winter tour of New Zealand, and believes their bowling attack is a little underrated.

“They bowled very well. They have quite defensive fields but bowl one side of the wicket,” Cook reported.

“It’s been slightly underplayed how they can swing the ball both ways with good control.

“They stick to their guns very well and deserve a lot of credit for the way they bowled today.”

Essex “fancied their chances” of beating the tourists when they began on 45 for one this morning in pursuit of 293. Cook stood firm until just after lunch but the hosts were eventually bowled out for 200.

Seamer Michael Mason finished with match figures of 7-101 as the Kiwis proved that, on this occasion at least, they could do the job without injured captain and premier spinner Daniel Vettori.

Pitching for a possible Test place ahead of Iain O’Brien, Mason has stated a slightly stronger case so far.

He felt New Zealand should have made it easier for themselves by making more runs.

“We should have been in a better position this morning. But after yesterday’s poor batting display, we weren’t,” he said.

“But to bowl them out today has given us a huge amount of confidence.”