NEW Zealand paceman Matt Henry claimed a distinguished first Test scalp 11 months ago when he dismissed England captain Alastair Cook at Lord’s.

Now the 24-year-old will come face-to-face with Cook again on Sunday (11am) when Worcestershire tackle Essex in Specsavers County Championship Division Two at New Road.

It may be different surroundings than that international debut at the home of cricket for Henry, who finished the game with six wickets.

But the stakes are still high as he chose a spell of county cricket for the first time to help boost his hopes of playing Test cricket on a regular basis for the Black Caps.

Since that breakthrough game, he has made three more Test appearances.

Henry had to wait nearly three weeks after arriving in England to make his County debut against Gloucestershire following the home washout against Kent.

He made an impression with a match aggregate of 6-172 with the ball and a crucial 42 not out with the bat, which helped secure maximum batting points.

Henry’s last appearance at New Road earned him the first Test call with an impressive performance in the four-day tour game which New Zealand won by 15 runs.

He said: “There was a battle at the time of that game to get into the Test team but that is the beauty of New Zealand cricket at the moment — the fact we’ve got so much depth with the bowling. There is so much competition for spots.”

Andrew Strauss was the last England Test captain in the middle at New Road, scoring one and 15 in April 2010 for Middlesex in a match where Steven Finn took 14 wickets but still appeared on the losing side.

Before that, there was an appearance by Michael Atherton in June 1997 when he scored just four for Lancashire.