The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed, on Wednesday (September 12), that Alastair Cook will not be available for Essex to play in the remaining two County Championship games of the ongoing season of the tournament for the club.

While Sam Curran and Ollie Pope will be available for Surrey for their remaining Championship matches against Somerset and Essex.

England’s record Test run-scorer Cook, who just retired from international cricket after India Tests, had recently signed a fresh three-year contract with Essex, will now be available for the next season.

Besides Cook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes will also miss their respective County's remaining Championship matches, while Anderson and Stuart Broad's availability for their respective County's remaining matches depends on their fitness.

Meanwhile, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, who will available for Worcestershire for their last Championship match against Yorkshire, Anderson, and Keaton Jennings will be available for their respective clubs for the final leg of the T20 Blast.

Following the hectic schedule against India at home, England are slated to tour Sri Lanka for a full series next month, consisting of three Tests, one T20 International and five One Day Internationals, and will depart last week of the September.

(Source: Cricbuzz)