ESSEX batsman Alastair Cook has followed house-mate Mark Pettini in signing a two-year contract extension with the county.

The England opener, whose existing deal was due to expire at the end of the 2009 campaign, has agreed to commit himself to the club he has represented since he was a child until the end of 2011.

The 23-year-old's Essex appearances have been hugely restricted since he burst into the England Test side in 2006, but the county were still understandably keen to keep Cook on their books should he lose his international place.

This summer, the Gloucester-born player made just three LV County Championship, two Friends Provident Trophy - scoring 95 in the semi-final win over Yorkshire Carnegie - one Twenty20 Cup and one NatWest Pro40 appearance for the county.

As a result, Cook's new Essex contract will reward him on a pay-as-you-play basis.

The batsman signed his contract at the Ford County Ground just a day before jetting off to Antigua for next week's Stanford Super Series, which will climax with England taking on the Stanford SuperStars for $20million on November 1.

"I'm delighted to have signed a deal to continue my relationship with Essex County Cricket Club for the foreseeable future," said Cook.

"I hope to play for England for as long and as much as I can but it's important to have the support of everyone at Essex, who are a county moving forward very quickly under captain Mark Pettini and first-team coach Paul Grayson.

"It's nice that I've been able to secure my future before going away and hopefully Essex will always be there for me.

"Winning the Friends Provident Trophy at Lord's was undoubtedly one of my highlights of 2008. Having grown up playing for Essex since the under-12s it was a special moment and hopefully the first of many."

With his Essex contract inked, Cook is now free to concentrate on his England commitments, with a gruelling tour to India to follow the Stanford Series.

"It's been great to have a few weeks off but now it's time to get serious again," he said.

"With India having just beaten Australia (in the second Test match in Mohali) it's going to be a good opportunity to test ourselves and to see how we are progressing ahead of next year's Ashes.

"India is a great, albeit tough, place to tour and I'm really looking forward to it."