Geoffrey Cook (born 9 October 1951) is a former

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er, who played in seven

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

and six

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

s from 1981 to 1983. Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, stated "A player held in great respect by his fellow professionals, Cook got his big chance when the first

rebel tour The South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because the international cricketing bodies Sporting boycott of South Africa, banned South Africa from competitiv ...

went to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1982, but he was unable to convert his consistent county form into Test success".

Career

In county cricket he played for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

where, along with

Robin Boyd-Moss Robin James Boyd-Moss (born 16 December 1959) is a former English professional cricketer who started his career with Bedfordshire in the Minor Counties Championship before playing first-class cricket for Cambridge University and Northamptonsh ...

, he achieved a second wicket partnership of 344, which remains a Northamptonshire record. Cook made a century as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and was

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

in the final of the NatWest Bank Trophy in 1981 at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

against

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, although he finished on the losing side. (The previous year he had had a happier experience at Lord's, helping

to win the Benson and Hedges Cup.) His 1981 Lord's hundred helped win Cook selection on England's tours that to winter to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. It was observed that he mounted a "staunch battle for

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

recognition" towards the end of these tours, with scores of 104 in successive first-class innings against the

Central Zone The Central Indo-Aryan languages or Hindi languages are a group of related language Variety (linguistics), varieties Spoken across North India and Central India. These language varieties form the central part of the Indo-Aryan language family, ...

, and the Sri Lanka Board President's XI. He duly made his Test debut in

's inaugural test in 1982. Cook made his highest Test score of 66 against

the following summer, playing seven Tests in total, but struggled in Australia in the following winter. He later moved to Durham, when they gained first-class status, becoming their first county captain. After running the county's youth Academy, he was appointed first team coach in March 2007, following

Martyn Moxon Martyn Douglas Moxon (born 4 May 1960) is a former English cricketer, who played in ten Test matches and eight One Day Internationals for England and for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1980 and 1997. In May 2007, Moxon was confirmed as Di ...

's resignation. Under Cook's guidance, Durham won their first major title in the club's history at

in 2007, and went on to win the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

for the first time in

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, and again in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. In June 2013 Cook suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. He completed the season and won the County Championship for a third time with Durham in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

. Cook was subsequently replaced full-time as first team coach by Jon Lewis, moving into a youth development role. He has been both chairman and secretary of the

Professional Cricketers' Association The Professional Cricketers' Association is the representative body of past and present first-class cricketers in England and Wales, founded in 1967 by former England fast bowler Fred Rumsey (when it was known as the Cricketers' Association). In t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Geoff 1951 births Living people England Test cricketers England One Day International cricketers English cricketers Durham cricketers Northamptonshire cricketers Northamptonshire cricket captains Eastern Province cricketers Cricketers from Middlesbrough Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Durham cricket captains English cricket coaches T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers English cricketers of 1969 to 2000