Geoffrey Cook (born 9 October 1951) is a former English

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 st ...

er, who played in seven Test matches 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 Cup ...

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 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 count ...

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, 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 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 no ...

, 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 ...

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

for the first time in

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, and again in

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. 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 m ...

. 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 ...

. 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 ...

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