LONDON: England Test captain Alastair Cook has signed a new two-year contract at Essex, the county side announced on Thursday. The 31-year-old left-handed opener rarely plays for the county, based in Chelmsford, east of London, because of his England commitments. But they are the only county club he has represented in his 13-year career to date and this season saw him make an excellent start to the season with Essex, scoring three hundreds for the club in the Second Division of the County Championship and 523 first-class runs in total thus far in the campaign.