After his England call up, Cook's appearances at Essex significantly reduced.
In the County Championship he appeared in only three matches, making two hundreds and another two fifties in his five innings, topping the season averages with an inflated 141.3.
Similarly in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy he appeared only three times and again topped the batting averages, only being out once with a top score of 91 and average of 148.
He scored less favourably in his one Twenty20 Cup appearance, scoring only nine runs.
In the 2007 season, for Essex alone his first-class average was only 58.8 from three appearances, making two hundreds but countering this with one duck and he made a similar century/duck appearance in the (formerly C&G) Friends Provident Trophy during his 5 matches averaging 38.4.

The back to back Totesport/Pro40 champions saw Cook make only one appearance in that competition, scoring 81 not out, before being relegated.
They won Division Two and were promoted the following season, though Cook only provided 11 runs in one innings during the tournament.
Despite his international commitments Cook managed to participate in at least one match of each tournament averaging 36.16 in three County Championship matches and 15 in his one Twenty20 match.
Given time off the South Africa One-Day series, Cook fared better in the FP Trophy with 45.3 from 3 matches including contributing the second highest in the final at Lord's to seal the trophy.

The 2009 English season featured an early Test series against the West Indies where, despite being in the Test team, Cook joined Essex in a tour match.
He scored 76 not out in the second innings before the match was rained off, stopping Essex pressing for victory.
Before the Test series he helped Essex force the follow on against Kent in the County Championship but faltered with his team, scoring only 4 in the second innings to lose by 192 runs.
After the Test series, Cook was omitted from the one day side leaving him free to play for Essex.
He joined them in their bid to defend their Friends Provident Trophy matching Varun Chopra's 65 in a 124 run partnership against Lancashire to gain a place in the semi-final.
He and his team could not recreate the same form for the semi-final, at the same location against the same team three days later, after being caught from a running catch by Sajid Mahmood, seeing the team lose by 67 runs.

Having been knocked out of the FP Trophy, the team turned to the Twenty20 Cup.
Making only his fourth appearance in the tournament since 2005, Cook hit 80 off 56 balls in a match against Kent that was rained off.
While his England partner Bopara scored 45 against Sussex, Cook only scored one but made up for this with a 60 run partnership with Bopara days later to put Essex top of the table.
Despite averaging 49 from these four games, Cook felt he was a long way from the international squad.
In his last performance before joining the Ashes squad, Cook scored a 57 ball century, and batted throughout the whole innings as they beat Surrey, but without Cook and Bopara, the team were knocked out after two successive losses.
After his England call up, Cook's appearances at Essex significantly reduced. In the County Championship he appeared in only three matches, making two hundreds and another two fifties in his five innings, topping the season averages with an inflated 141.3. Similarly in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy he appeared only three times and again topped the batting averages, only being out once with a top score of 91 and average of 148. He scored less favourably in his one Twenty20 Cup appearance, scoring only nine runs. In the 2007 season, for Essex alone his first-class average was only 58.8 from three appearances, making two hundreds but countering this with one duck and he made a similar century/duck appearance in the (formerly C&G) Friends Provident Trophy during his 5 matches averaging 38.4.
The back to back Totesport/Pro40 champions saw Cook make only one appearance in that competition, scoring 81 not out, before being relegated. They won Division Two and were promoted the following season, though Cook only provided 11 runs in one innings during the tournament. Despite his international commitments Cook managed to participate in at least one match of each tournament averaging 36.16 in three County Championship matches and 15 in his one Twenty20 match. Given time off the South Africa One-Day series, Cook fared better in the FP Trophy with 45.3 from 3 matches including contributing the second highest in the final at Lord's to seal the trophy.
The 2009 English season featured an early Test series against the West Indies where, despite being in the Test team, Cook joined Essex in a tour match. He scored 76 not out in the second innings before the match was rained off, stopping Essex pressing for victory. Before the Test series he helped Essex force the follow on against Kent in the County Championship but faltered with his team, scoring only 4 in the second innings to lose by 192 runs. After the Test series, Cook was omitted from the one day side leaving him free to play for Essex. He joined them in their bid to defend their Friends Provident Trophy matching Varun Chopra's 65 in a 124 run partnership against Lancashire to gain a place in the semi-final. He and his team could not recreate the same form for the semi-final, at the same location against the same team three days later, after being caught from a running catch by Sajid Mahmood, seeing the team lose by 67 runs.
Having been knocked out of the FP Trophy, the team turned to the Twenty20 Cup. Making only his fourth appearance in the tournament since 2005, Cook hit 80 off 56 balls in a match against Kent that was rained off. While his England partner Bopara scored 45 against Sussex, Cook only scored one but made up for this with a 60 run partnership with Bopara days later to put Essex top of the table. Despite averaging 49 from these four games, Cook felt he was a long way from the international squad. In his last performance before joining the Ashes squad, Cook scored a 57 ball century, and batted throughout the whole innings as they beat Surrey, but without Cook and Bopara, the team were knocked out after two successive losses.
Alastair Cook