Geoff Cook is a former English cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

er, who played in seven Tests

Test cricket

Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...

 and six ODIs from 1981 to 1983. Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, stated "A player held in great respect by his fellow professionals, Cook got his big chance when the first rebel tour

South African rebel tours

The South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because South Africa was throughout this period banned from international cricket due to the apartheid regime...

 went to South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 in 1982, but he was unable to convert his consistent county form into Test success".

Life and career

In county cricket he played for Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire County Cricket Club

Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...

 where, along with Robin Boyd-Moss

Robin Boyd-Moss

Robin James Boyd-Moss was a Sri Lankan born English professional Cricketer who started his career with Bedfordshire in the Minor Counties League, before playing First Class cricket for Northamptonshire.-Career:...

, he achieved a second wicket partnership of 344, which remains a Northamptonshire record. Cook played thirteen Test innings but only twice passed 50. He later moved to Durham

Durham County Cricket Club

Durham County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Durham. Its limited overs team is called the Durham Dynamos. Their kit colours are blue with yellow trim and the shirt sponsor was...

, when they gained first-class

First-class cricket

First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

 status, becoming their first county captain

Captain (cricket)

The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...

. After running the county's youth Academy, he was appointed first team coach in March 2007, following Martyn Moxon

Martyn Moxon

Martyn Douglas Moxon is a former English cricketer, who played ten Tests and eight One Day Internationals for England and appeared for Yorkshire for 17 seasons from 1981 to 1997...

's resignation. Under Cook's guidance, Durham won their first major title in the club's history at Lord's

Lord's Cricket Ground

Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...

 in 2007, and went on to win the County Championship

County Championship

The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...

 for the first time in 2008, and again in 2009.

He has been both chairman and secretary of the Professional Cricketers' Association

Professional Cricketers' Association

The Professional Cricketers' Association is the representative body of past and present first-class cricketers in England and Wales, founded in 1967...

.

Cook has one daughter, Anna, and a son named Andrew.