Full name Stephen James Cook
Born July 31, 1953, Johannesburg, Transvaal
Current age 67 years 212 days
Major teams South Africa, Somerset, Transvaal
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Other Coach
Relation Son - SC Cook
Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tests | 3 | 6 | 0 | 107 | 43 | 17.83 | 373 | 28.68 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
ODIs | 4 | 4 | 0 | 67 | 35 | 16.75 | 118 | 56.77 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
First-class | 270 | 475 | 57 | 21143 | 313* | 50.58 | 64 | 87 | 157 | 0 | ||||
List A | 286 | 281 | 24 | 10639 | 177 | 41.39 | 24 | 63 | 89 | 0 |
Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tests | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
ODIs | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
First-class | 270 | 144 | 107 | 3 | 2/25 | 35.66 | 4.45 | 48.0 | 0 | 0 | |||
List A | 286 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1/4 | 1/4 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Test debut | South Africa v India at Durban, Nov 13-17, 1992 scorecard |
Last Test | Sri Lanka v South Africa at Moratuwa, Aug 25-30, 1993 scorecard |
Test statistics | |
ODI debut | India v South Africa at Kolkata, Nov 10, 1991 scorecard |
Last ODI | Sri Lanka v South Africa at Colombo (RPS), Sep 2, 1993 scorecard |
ODI statistics | |
First-class span | 1972/73 - 1994/95 |
List A span | 1972/73 - 1994/95 |
Jimmy Cook was an exceptional opening batsman who was unfortunate in that most of his career coincided with the twilight days of the apartheid regime. By the time he made his belated international debut he was almost 40 and past his best. Originally a middle-order batsman for Transvaal, it was when he moved to become an opener that his career took off. He broke almost every domestic record for his province, and when he finally got a chance overseas - with Somerset - he underlined his quality with a huge number of runs, more than 7500 in three summers, including 28 hundreds. A first-choice for South Africa against various rebel touring sides, he was not picked when South Africa returned to the international fold, but finally made his Test debut against India in 1992-93. By then, however, he had begun to show weakness against pace and his fielding, which had been brilliant in his youth, was letting him down. His enthusiasm remained undiminished, and in his latter years he captained Transvaal with success. He turned his hand to coaching, first as director of coaching with the UCBSA, and then in a unsuccessful stint with Hampshire which ended in his dismissal in 2002. As a coach at King Edward School in Johannesburg he oversaw the development of Graeme Smith. He went on to become a batting coach for the Highveld Lions.
Martin Williamson
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1990