Lawrence Cook (cricketer)
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| Bowling | Right-arm medium pace | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive
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Lawrence Cook (Lawrence Whalley Cook; born Leonard Whalley Cook; 28 March 1884, Preston, Lancashire, England; died 2 December 1933, Mesnes, Wigan, Lancashire, England) was a bowler for Lancashire County Cricket Club between 1907 and 1923.
His career was somewhat unusual. For most of his career Lawrence Cook was not a regular member of the Lancashire eleven as many bowlers competed for two or three places, but near its end in his mid-thirties Cook bowled so well that some expected him to be chosen for the difficult 1920/1921 Ashes tour. He was not chosen, and indeed never played for England even during the disastrous 1921 series when thirty players were used to find a winning combination. Nonetheless, shrewd judges are unanimous that Cook was not the bowler for Test matches against a formidable batting side on rock-hard pitches.
Lawrence Cook emerged in 1907 as a bowler of fast-medium pace, possibly meant to substitute for Walter Brearley who was then engaged in one of his many disputes with the Lancashire committee. Although he took a wicket with his first ball in first-class cricket, on the whole his record for that season was moderate, but with seven wickets on a rare hard pitch against Kent at Canterbury he showed he had great persistence. When Brearley came back into the eleven in 1908, Cook was relegated to the Second Eleven, but in 1910 he re-established in place and in the May following year, helped by a bad pitch and feeble Northamptonshire batting, he bowled with considerable pace and a lot of spin to take eight wickets for 39 runs. Cook indeed bowled so well early that season that Lancashire seemed to have found an excellent pace bowler when Brearley could not play. However, he was felt impossible to fit in when that fast bowler was free from business and on returning to the side he did not maintain his early season form, nor did he do anything of note against the top counties.
The years 1912 to 1914 saw Lancashire, even with Brearley gone, aim to stabilise their bowling lineup. This left no room for Cook - he was probably passed over in favour of men who could bat better. During World War I, Lawrence Cook served in the Army, and he was not demobilised until well after the 1919 season commenced.
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