Cook was a prolific opening batsman both in his native South Africa and for Somerset County Cricket Club but South Africa's exclusion from Test cricket cost him a significant Test career. He played in all 19 of South Africa's 'unofficial Test matches' against rebel sides.[2][3] Aged 39 and having waited two decades for an official Test cap, he edged Kapil Dev's opening ball, a late outswinger, to third slip in the First Test between South Africa and India at Durban in November 1992, to become the first debutant to be dismissed by the first ball of a Test match;[2]Leon Garrick of the West Indies also suffered this fate nine years later.
Originally a middle-order batsman for Transvaal, his career blossomed when he converted to the opening position. He formed a formidable opening partnership with Henry Fotheringham, helping the Transvaal dominate the domestic scene in the 1980s. He captained the province later on in his career, and remains the third highest run scorer in South African first class cricket.
Ignored by county cricket in England until late in his career, he scored over 7,500 runs for Somerset in his three seasons with the club, including 28 hundreds. In 270 first-class matches, he scored 21,143 runs with a top score of 313* at an average of 50.58. He scored 64 first-class hundreds. In 286 List A cricket games, he made 10,639 runs at 41.39 with a best of 177.
After Cook retired he became director of coaching with the UCBSA, and had an unsuccessful spell with Hampshire which ended in 2002. As a coach at King Edward School in Johannesburg he oversaw the development of Graeme Smith.
References
^"Earning that 'Clever Boys' Tag" (PDF). Wits Student: 23. 1983. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
jimmy, cook, stephen, james, cook, born, july, 1953, former, south, african, association, football, cricketer, played, three, cricket, test, matches, four, internationals, from, 1991, 1993, stephen, cook, currently, plays, gauteng, national, side, proteas, pla. Stephen James Cook born 31 July 1953 is a former South African association football and cricketer who played in three cricket Test matches and four One Day Internationals from 1991 to 1993 His son Stephen Cook currently plays for Gauteng and the national side the Proteas He played football for Wits University while studying for a teaching degree in the late seventies and featured in the 1978 Mainstay Cup Final 1 Jimmy CookPersonal informationFull nameStephen James CookBorn 1953 07 31 31 July 1953 age 69 Johannesburg Transvaal Province Union of South AfricaBattingRight handedBowlingRight arm off breakRoleBatsmanRelationsStephen CookInternational informationNational sideSouth AfricaTest debut cap 247 13 November 1992 v IndiaLast Test25 August 1993 v Sri LankaODI debut cap 1 10 November 1991 v IndiaLast ODI2 September 1993 v Sri LankaDomestic team informationYearsTeam1972 73 1984 95Transvaal1989 1991SomersetCareer statisticsCompetition Test ODI FC LAMatches 3 4 270 286Runs scored 107 67 21 143 10 639Batting average 17 83 16 75 50 58 41 39100s 50s 0 0 0 0 64 87 24 63Top score 43 35 313 177Balls bowled 144 6Wickets 3 1Bowling average 35 66 4 005 wickets in innings 0 010 wickets in match 0 0Best bowling 2 25 1 4Catches stumpings 0 1 157 89 Source CricketArchive 15 January 2010Cook was a prolific opening batsman both in his native South Africa and for Somerset County Cricket Club but South Africa s exclusion from Test cricket cost him a significant Test career He played in all 19 of South Africa s unofficial Test matches against rebel sides 2 3 Aged 39 and having waited two decades for an official Test cap he edged Kapil Dev s opening ball a late outswinger to third slip in the First Test between South Africa and India at Durban in November 1992 to become the first debutant to be dismissed by the first ball of a Test match 2 Leon Garrick of the West Indies also suffered this fate nine years later Originally a middle order batsman for Transvaal his career blossomed when he converted to the opening position He formed a formidable opening partnership with Henry Fotheringham helping the Transvaal dominate the domestic scene in the 1980s He captained the province later on in his career and remains the third highest run scorer in South African first class cricket Ignored by county cricket in England until late in his career he scored over 7 500 runs for Somerset in his three seasons with the club including 28 hundreds In 270 first class matches he scored 21 143 runs with a top score of 313 at an average of 50 58 He scored 64 first class hundreds In 286 List A cricket games he made 10 639 runs at 41 39 with a best of 177 After Cook retired he became director of coaching with the UCBSA and had an unsuccessful spell with Hampshire which ended in 2002 As a coach at King Edward School in Johannesburg he oversaw the development of Graeme Smith References Edit Earning that Clever Boys Tag PDF Wits Student 23 1983 Retrieved 22 January 2016 a b Frindall Bill 2009 Ask Bearders BBC Books pp 200 201 ISBN 978 1 84607 880 4 Two legends make their entrance ESPN Cricinfo 13 November 2008 Retrieved 20 November 2018 External links EditJimmy Cook at ESPNcricinfo Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jimmy Cook amp oldid 1132117534, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
