Alfred Cooper (cricketer)

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Alfred Cooper South Africa (RSA)
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling type	Right-arm medium
	Tests	First-class
Matches	1	37
Runs scored	6	1,788
Batting average	3.00	31.92
100s/50s	0/0	4/8
Top score	6	171*
Balls bowled	-	1,150
Wickets	-	15
Bowling average	-	37.06
5 wickets in innings	-	0
10 wickets in match	-	0
Best bowling	-	3/9
Catches/stumpings	1/-	27/-
Test debut: 13 December 1913 Last Test: 13 December 1913 Source: Cricinfo

Alfred Henry Cecil Cooper was born in Johannesburg on 2 September 1893, and died in the same city on 18 July 1963, aged 72. Despite recording a duck on his first-class debut, he was a forceful batsman that scored, in all matches, 1,788 runs at 31.92, a highly respectable average for the period. In a career interrupted by the First World War, he played entirely for Transvaal between 1912/13 and 1928/29 and also represented South Africa in the first Test match of M.C.C.’s visit to the country in 1913/14. His best score, 171 not out, was hit against Western Province in a Currie Cup match at Johannesburg in December 1923 in which he and N.V. Lindsay shared a partnership of 174. Sadly, he couldn’t reproduce this kind of form for South Africa and in his sole Test, played at Durban in December 1913, he scored just 6 and 0, a victim of Sydney Barnes in both innings. He also took one catch in that match, one of 27 dismissals he affected in this way during his career. Occasionally, he bowled right-arm medium-pace and took in all matches, 15 wickets at 37.06 runs apiece, his best figures being 3 wickets for 9 runs. No Obituary appeared within the covers of Wisden for Alfred Cooper.

[edit] References

1. World Cricketers - A Biographical Dictionary by Christopher Martin-Jenkins, published by Oxford University Press (1996),
2. The Wisden Book of Test Cricket, Volume 1 (1877-1977) compiled and edited by Bill Frindall, published by Headline Book Publishing (1995),
3. Who's Who of Cricketers by Philip Bailey, Philip Thorn & Peter Wynne-Thomas, published by Hamlyn (1993),
4. www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players.