Sam Cook

That campaign came in 2017, when Essex claimed the county championship title for the first time in 25 years. Cook made a major contribution to the triumph, taking 18 wickets at an average of 15.89 across the summer.

His finest moment came at the very end of that season. In the fixture against Hampshire that sealed the title for Essex, he claimed five wickets in an innings for the first time in his career, a milestone few bowlers get to reach on so significant a stage. He then followed it with another five-wicket return in the next match, closing the year with two such hauls in a row.

Having made that impression, Cook has gone on to establish himself as a regular member of the Essex seam attack, and he remains a dependable part of the county's bowling unit.