Chris Cooke

Chris Cooke, a forceful middle-order batsman and wicketkeeper, grew up in Johannesburg but spent several summers playing league cricket in Sussex and then for Tamworth in the Birmingham League and Bournemouth in the Southern Premier League. He was given a chance by Glamorgan and has steadily developed his career in Cardiff.

His first opportunity in Glamorgan's first XI came in a T20 against Middlesex in Cardiff. He made an immediate impact, striking his second, third and fourth balls for six and later in the summer also made a big century against Somerset in the 40-over competition as he established himself in the Glamorgan side.

After playing some eye-catching innings in limited-overs cricket not least in helping Glamorgan reach a Lord's final in 2013, Cooke established himself as a Championship regular in 2014. He notched up his maiden first-class century at Canterbury - 171 - on his way to 870 runs at 43.50 but left it until the final Championship game of the following season before his next hundred, against Gloucestershire. He added two more first-class hundreds to his tally in 2015, besides playing a remarkable match-winning innings against Kent in the Royal London One-Day Cup at the SSE SWALEC where he struck 94 from 54 balls to see Glamorgan to victory.

A back injury disrupted his career in 2016 - a trapped nerve in his spine making keeping a challenging proposition until he conceded the inevitable - but Glamorgan's wicketkeeping needs had become more pressing with the retirement of long-serving Mark Wallace. Cooke bounced back strongly the following season, topping Glamorgan's Championship averages and also cutting a reliable figure behind the stumps.

He was appointed captain of the Championship and 50-over sides ahead of the 2019 season, and despite struggling for form in first-class cricket, he had a reasonable year in the white-ball middle-order.

Cooke's early cricket came at Western Province for whom he played six matches in the 2009-10 season and also played a full part in the one-day competition and made his first century in professional cricket against Boland at Newlands. He is also a level two coach.
ESPNcricinfo staff