Chris Cooke

Chris Cooke is a South African-born and Johannesburg-raised cricketer who has played majorly in the United Kingdom. Cooke is a middle-order fluent stroke-maker and secure gloveman behind the stumps. 

Starting his professional career with West Province, Cooke played at the domestic level for three seasons before migrating to Glamorgan in 2011. The Johannesburg-born found his maiden place in the first XI in a T20 clash against Middlesex where he tonked 22 runs in just 6 deliveries. Later that summer, he smashed a century in a 40-over game to make an immediate impact. 

Slowly and steadily, he found his spot for the Championship cricket and then notched 870 runs at an average of 43.50 in the 2014 season. He added two more hundred in the following season before getting his back injured to disrupt the 2016 season. 

However, post the retirement of ex-Glamorgan keeper-batsman, Mark Wallace, Cooke made a solid statement in 2017. He emerged as an integral cog in his club’s success where he topped the average charts and pulled tremendous stunts behind the stumps. 

He was appointed captain of the Glamorgan county ahead of the 2019 season, and despite struggling for form in first-class cricket, to replace Michael Hogan. The Johannesburg-born had a reasonable year in the white-ball and flourished as a leader. 

Cooke has started the 2021 Championship season with a century against Yorkshire to set the tempo for a promising season. Earlier that season, the Birmingham Phoenix drafted the Glamorgan lad into the squad for the inaugural season of 'The Hundred'. With Cooke’s experience, the franchise can fancy their chance to lift the trophy. 

(As of April 2021)