Cook ton cancels out Taylor hat-trick

West Indian fast bowler Jerome Taylor snared a hat-trick but Alastair Cook’s second limited-overs ton in three matches stole the show in Wednesday’s round of domestic one-day cup clashes in the United Kingdom.

Taylor ripped the heart out of Essex’s top order, taking the first three wickets of the innings to leave the hosts reeling at 3-19 in the fifth over.

The Jamaican, who also took a hat-trick against Australia in the 2006 Champions Trophy, nicked off opener Varun Chopra and first-drop Tom Westley with outswingers, before completing the feat with a searing yorker that trapped Adam Wheater lbw.

But England’s all-time Test leading run-scorer Cook, who watched from the non-striker’s end as Taylor took Sussex’s ninth List A hat-trick, made a typically resilient century to lead Essex to victory.

Cook finished with 109 from 131 balls, teaming up with Dutch international Ryan ten Doeschate (102 off 91 balls) for a 142-run fifth-wicket partnership to fire Essex to 295, which proved 10 runs too many for Sussex.

Cook hasn’t played a one-day international for England in more than two years but after going nearly five years without a List A century, he has hit a purple patch with Essex.

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Taylor’s hat-trick meanwhile comes after the paceman announced he’s again made himself available for Test cricket for the Windies, after retiring from the format last year.

The 32-year-old missed selection for the ongoing three-Test series against Pakistan in the Caribbean, and has signed on with Sussex for the one-day tournament, replacing South Africa paceman Vernon Philander. 

In Taunton, former Proteas batsman Rilee Rossouw (156 off 113 balls) made a terrific hundred for Hampshire to help the visitors get home by four wickets.

It came after Somerset batsmen Dean Elgar and Roelof van der Merwe were involved in a comical mix-up, as both players scrambled for survival.

Van der Merwe, who last month combined with Elgar to help Somerset record a sensational comeback victory against Surrey, had to depart despite Hampshire wicketkeeper Lewis McManus appearing to gesture Elgar (who finished at the striker’s end) was the one who should have been out.

Elgar finished with 78 off 88 balls, going past Handscomb at the top of the run-scoring charts.

In other matches, Australia Test batsman Peter Handscomb was displaced as the one-day competition’s leading run-scorer after posing his first single-digit score of the tournament for Yorkshire.

Handscomb, lbw for nine, England Test skipper Joe Root (seven) and Jonny Bairstow (39) made little impact but the ladder leaders still recorded a resounding win thanks to a brilliant 118-ball 152 from Gary Ballance.

The rapid knock saw Yorkshire reach 6-300, before Northamptonshire folded for 136.

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At Radlett, paceman Steven Finn sent a message to selectors after he was left out of England’s Champions Trophy squad, collecting 4-39 to lead Middlesex to victory over Glamorgan.

Former Australia Test batsman Adam Voges made 40 for the hosts, whose 243 was 16 runs too many for Glamorgan.

In the other two matches, Lancashire defeated Worcestershire by 152 runs thanks to an unbeaten 100 from Dane Vilas while Derbyshire chased down Warwickshire’s 292, set up by a ton from former Australia Under-19 representative Sam Hain, with four wickets and two balls to spare.