Jimmy Cook was an extraordinary opening batsman who spent most of his career during the latter days of the apartheid government. This was bad for him because it coincided with the period in which the dictatorship was in its final stages. When he finally made his long-awaited debut on the international stage, he was almost 40 years old and well past his prime. When he switched from playing in the middle order to starting at the top of the demand for Transvaal, his career began to take off. He broke almost every domestic record for his province. When he finally got a chance to play overseas — with Somerset — he demonstrated his quality by scoring a huge number of runs: more than 7,500 in three summers, including 28 hundred.
This was all in addition to the fact that he played for Somerset. When South Africa returned to the international fold, he was not selected for the team, but in 1992–1993, he eventually made his debut in a test match against India. He was South Africa’s first-choice player when South Africa faced several rebel touring sides. However, at that time, he had already started to show signs of weakness against pace, and his fielding, which had been excellent in his youth, was beginning to fail him. His zeal never waned, and he captained Transvaal with distinction in his latter years.
He tried his hand at coaching, first as director of coaching with the UCBSA and then in a failed term with Hampshire, resulting in his firing in 2002. He was fired. While working as a coach at King Edward School in Johannesburg, he was responsible for Graeme Smith’s overall development. After that, he pursued a career in coaching and eventually became the batting coach for the Highveld Lions.
Jimmy Cook Biography:
- Real Name: Stephen James Cook
- Other/Nickname: SJ Cook
- Profession: Cricketer
- Famous for: Cricket and Coaching
- Best Performance: 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.
- Jimmy Cook Net Worth: $5 Million
- Jimmy Cook Batting Style: Right hand bat
- Jimmy Cook Bowling Style: Right arm off break.
- Jimmy Cook Salary: $1,458,014
- Twitter Handle: @Jimmycookca
Jimmy Cook Personal Life:
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- Date Of Birth: 31 July 1953
- Jimmy Cook Age: 69 years and 187 days.
- Place Of Birth: Johannesburg, South Africa
- Nationality: South African
- Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa
Jimmy Cook Family Statistics:
- Marital Status: Single
- Jimmy Cook Wife: Unknown
- Children: Son – Stephen Cook
- Religion: Christianity
- Other Hobbies: Golf, Fishing and Reading
Jimmy Cook Career Statistics:
- Test Debut: vs. India at Kingsmead, Nov 13Nov 13, 1992
- ODI Debut: vs. India at Eden Gardens, Nov 10Nov 10, 1991
Jimmy Cook Achievements:
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- When he was 19, he made his first-class debut for Transvaal, scoring 54 against Natal in Johannesburg. Since then, he has scored over 8,000 runs in the Currie Cup, averaging over 43.
- Scored 64 first class hundreds
- In 270 first-class matches, he scored 21,143 runs with a top score of 313* at an average of 50.58.
- In 286 List A cricket games, he made 10,639 runs at 41.39 with a best of 177.
- Transvaal’s middle-order batter became an opening batsman. In the 1980s, he and Henry Fotheringham dominated the home scene. He later captained the province and is South Africa’s third-highest run scorer.
Here are some of the lesser-known facts about Jimmy Cook
- After retiring, Cook became UCBSA director of coaching and failed with Hampshire in 2002. He coached Graeme Smith at King Edward School in Johannesburg.
- From 1991 to 1993, South African footballer and cricketer Stephen James Cook played three Tests and four ODIs. Stephen Cook is a Gauteng and Proteas player. While studying for a teaching degree, he played football for Wits University and appeared in the 1978 Mainstay Cup Final.
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