Essex and England's Alastair Cook in batting action against India.

County Championship Division Two: Glamorgan v Essex, Swalec Stadium

England opener Alastair Cook looks set to make his first County Championship appearance of the season when Essex face Glamorgan tomorrow.

Cook and Tom Craddock are the new names to the squad list from the side who drew with Northamptonshire last week.

Only 27 overs were bowled at Chelmsford as the hosts lumped to 54-6.

However head coach Paul Grayson was pragmatic about their performance at the County ground.

“It happens at this time of the year,” he said. “The ECB have scheduled an earlier start to the season in the past few years and up until now, we’ve generally been fortunate with the weather. I suppose the only consolation is that the rain affected every match up and down the country but we are now looking to make up for lost time.

“It’s obviously a boost to have Cookie with us for the next couple of weeks and hopefully the weather will relent to allow us to play our cricket.”

Cook looks likely to open with former Glamorgan man Alviro Petersen who skippered the Welsh side last season.

“There’s no baggage and I’m going there now as an Essex player and looking forward to performing against Glamorgan at the SWALEC Stadium,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of friends there and I want to do well. It’s important that I stay focused on what I want to achieve out of the game and if there’s any extra substance to the game, then I use it to my benefit.

“It’s going to be a massive challenge mentally, technically and physically I suppose but it’s a game that I’m looking forward to.

“It would be nice to score a hundred but it’s a hard craft in terms of doing that so hopefully, I’ll get a bit of luck, get in and once I’m in, then try and be an anchor for the Essex team and I look forward to making a big contribution.”