England captain Alastair Cook admitted he got lucky after denying Sussex their first win of the season in the County Championship.

Cook was dropped by Danny Briggs when he had made just one and then survived a confident lbw appeal in the very next over before going on to make an unbeaten 127 to earn Essex a draw at Hove.

He said: “It was nice to score a few as you’re always judged by runs. I got a bit of luck early on but you kind of need that.

“With the break I’ve had and just playing one form of the game internationally, you get chunks of time off, so I’ve come to Essex to try to score runs and hope we get off to a good start.”

Cook - who batted for almost six hours to guide Essex to 266-7 in pursuit of 329 to win at Hove - also vowed to comply with the new ECB helmet regulations from now on after risking censure by wearing the old-style headgear in Essex’s opening match against Gloucestershire last week.

He added: “It’s not my preference, I would rather bat in my other one but I totally understand the position everyone is in with the regulations, so you just have to get on with it. I just think I pick the ball up better in the other one but it wasn’t too bad yesterday.”