Glamorgan legend Chris Cooke and the Club have announced that 2024 will be the Testimonial Year for the wicket-keeper batter.
In 2024, Glamorgan members and supporters will be able to celebrate and honour his incredible career as he enters his 14th season with the Welsh county.
The Glamorgan great has been a mainstay across all formats during his time at the Club and has amassed over 10,500 runs and taken over 390 dismissals for the Club during his time.
He holds the appearance record for the Club in T20 cricket, scoring his first century in the format this summer in a glorious ball-striking display, and averages over 40 in red-ball cricket across his ten-year span in Wales.
His first opportunity in Glamorgan's first XI came in a T20 against Middlesex in Cardiff. He made an immediate impact, striking his second, third and fourth balls for six and later in the summer also made a big century against Somerset in the 40-over competition as he established himself in the Glamorgan side.
After playing some eye-catching innings in limited-overs cricket not least in helping Glamorgan reach a Lord's Final in 2013, Cooke established himself as a Championship regular in 2014. He notched up his maiden first-class century at Canterbury - 171 - on his way to 870 runs at 43.50.
He added two more first-class hundreds to his tally in 2015, besides playing a remarkable match-winning innings against Kent in the Royal London One-Day Cup at the SSE SWALEC where he struck 94 from 54 balls to see Glamorgan to victory.
In 2018, Cooke was appointed the Club’s vice-captain before in 2019 taking over the captaincy of the red ball games from Michael Hogan. It proved to be a bitter-sweet year for him as he made a superb career-best of 161 against Gloucestershire in the Royal London One-Day Cup match at Bristol before twisting his ankle against the same opponents in a freak accident whilst batting in the Championship match at Spytty Park in Newport. It saw him spend six weeks on the sidelines but he was able to return for the T20 competition and the closing Championship matches.
2021 saw Cooke post his maiden Championship double-hundred - the first-ever by a specialist Glamorgan wicket-keeper. He stood down from the Glamorgan captaincy at the end of the year, handing over the reins to his deputy David Lloyd. 2022 duly saw Cooke share a Club record stand of 461 for the sixth wicket with Sam Northeast against Leicestershire at Grace Road. He made an unbeaten 191 and, with a further century against Sussex at Hove, Cooke ended the summer with a career-best seasonal aggregate of 840 runs.
Further records have come his way during 2023 including a 38-ball hundred in the T20 game against Middlesex at Merchant Taylors' School, with his century being the fastest on record for the Welsh county in any format of the game.
Cooke has been in sparkling form this summer across all formats, and cannot wait to celebrate his Glamorgan career with his family and the Glamorgan faithful next year.
Cooke said, “I am incredibly grateful and honoured to be awarded a Testimonial year for 2024. I have been proud to represent ‘the Daff’ for the last 13 years, and I’m looking forward to being able to thank and celebrate the people who made this amazing journey possible. Here’s to a great year on and off the field!”
Glamorgan Director Of Cricket, Mark Wallace, added, “It is fantastic that Chris has been rewarded for his outstanding contributions to the club with a Testimonial Year in 2024.
“Chris’ performances with bat and gloves over the years put him right at the top of the best players to have played for the club in his position and we wish him a successful year both on and off the field in 2024.”
For all enquires please contact - CCTestimonial24@gmail.com