Eddie Cooper

Who was Eddie Cooper?

Edwin "Eddie" Cooper was an English cricketer: a right-handed batsman who played 249 first-class matches for Worcestershire between 1936 and 1951. His total of 13,304 runs at 31.98 included 18 hundreds.

Born in Bacup, Lancashire, Cooper made his first-class debut for Worcestershire against Oxford University in May 1936, making 2 and 28. That was his only outing that season, but in 1937 he was a regular in the team and was awarded his county cap as well as making 1,321 runs: he was to pass the 1,000 mark in all his subsequent seasons. 1938 saw him make his highest score, 216 not out against rivals Warwickshire, and he again did well in 1939 before the Second World War brought a halt to first-class cricket.

Cooper was able to resume his Worcestershire career in 1946, and while he rather missed out on the runs in 1947, two years later he had his finest season in the game, scoring 1,916 runs at 43.54 and passing 50 on 17 occasions. He rounded off his career with two more satisfactory summers, as well as a benefit season in his final year of 1951. He departed the first-class game in some style, making 124 against Northamptonshire in his final innings.