England have asked Essex to rest seamer Sam Cook this weekend, putting him in line for an England Test debut. Cook, 27, has been one of the standout performers in county cricket in recent seasons and will sit out the County Championship match against Worcestershire, which starts on Friday, to manage his workload. England play Zimbabwe in the first Test of the summer from 22 May and have injury concerns around a number of fast bowlers. Mark Wood and Olly Stone are long-term absentees with knee injuries while Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes are yet to play this season because of toe and ankle issues respectively. There have long been calls for Cook, an accurate right-arm bowler, to be given a Test debut after his prolific county form. He has taken 318 wickets at an average of 19.77 in first-class cricket. Cook also impressed on England Lions' tour of Australia in the winter. He claimed 13 wickets in three matches, including three in the first-class match against a strong Australia A side.