Durham coach Geoff Cook wishes protegee Onions got some of his luck

Former England cricketer Geoff Cook has said that he wished that some of his luck rubbed off on fast bowler Graham Onions, who has remained on the fringes of the England set-up despite starring in county cricket.

Onions' county side Durham, which is coached by Cook, secured their third County Championship title in six years on Thursday after a victory at home to Nottinghamshire left them in an unassailable position at the top of the table with a round of matches left.

According to Sport24, however, Onions has been unable to add to his tally of nine Test caps after failing to earn a call-up in the Ashes series, despite being a key figure for Durham this season with 67 first-class wickets.

Stating that he wished that Onions had some of his luck, Cook hopes that Onions deserve further Test recognition, adding that he believes that Onions is in the right place at the wrong time as he is a contemporary of stars like James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann.

According to Cook, even though his protegee is a quality bowler, England has bowlers of high calibre with the likes of Steven Finn and Chris Tremlett vying for inclusion now, adding that England is winning Test matches because it is very difficult to break in into them.

Cook further said that Onions is unlucky that the selectors consistently get him involved as either the fourth or the fifth bowler in the squad when they select him, although he added that Onions is respected around the country as a top-class bowler.