In 1990 Cottam started playing for Somerset Second XI and
Devon. In 1992 he was selected for
Under-19's tour of Pakistan and played in the Third Test and 2 one-day matches against Pakistan Under-19s. That summer he played in 6
County Championship matches for
Somerset and in an Under-19 Test against Sri Lanka, when he took 4 wickets for 69 in the first innings. However, in 1993 he failed to make the Somerset First XI, apart from a one-day match against Kent. In 1994 he moved to
Northants but did not play for the first team and he signed for
Derbyshire in 1995. He played in 4 County Championship matches and in a university game and was released at the end of the season. He returned to Somerset, where his father was director of cricket, and played in 2 County Championship matches in 1996. He played for Somerset Second XI in 1997 and for Devon until 1999. Although an economy as a bowler of under three per over in first-class cricket was acceptable, Cottam's bowling did not look like it would do more than take the occasional wicket and he was always a tail-end batsman, so his first-class career was inevitably a short one. ==Coaching career==