BURNLEY’S James Anderson swapped his cricket bat for darts as he took on Alastair Cook at Alexandra Palace on Monday night.

The England paceman took on Cook two days after he was dropped as England’s one-day captain and axed from the World Cup squad.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Cook smiled his way through a one-leg shoot-out with Anderson - winning with a double-11 checkout after contributions of 100 and 140 - in a warm-up to the night’s action at the World Darts Championship.

Dubbed as ‘Bed and Breakfast’ and walking out to ‘Baby Give It Up’, Cook looked in high spirits on stage and was later getting into the swing of things in amongst the fans.

The pair then headed into the commentary box to do a stint alongside former world champion Eric Bristow, and Cook admitted he was struggling to take in what the last 48 hours had served him.

“It’s been an interesting couple of days,” he said.

“I’m frustrated and disappointed not to be joining Jimmy on the plane. Sometimes these things happen; I take it on the chin and get a couple of weeks away.

“It’s gutting and frustrating, but that’s the way of the world and you have to get over it and I wish the guys well.”

Anderson, wearing the nickname ‘The Swinger’ on his shirt, walked out to Kasabian’s Fast Fuse.

He admitted to having a pre-match beer in order to calm his nerves, while Cook added: “Apparently you need a few beers to play well and I understand why now.”

Meanwhile, Anderson returned to Burnley on Saturday where he recorded the Not Just Cricket show for BBC Five Live.

The former Burnley bowler was joined by host Greg James and team-mate Graeme Swann for the show which included music from The Farm and The Zutons with comic Justin Moorhouse appearing as a special guest.

The show will broadcast on Christmas Day at 7pm.