Rustom Cooper
Quick Facts
Biography
Rustom Sorabji "Rusi" Cooper (born 15 December 1922 in Bombay) is a former Indian first-class cricketer.
He was a right-handed batsman who made his first-class debut in the 1941/42 Bombay Pentangular Tournament, playing for the Parsees. Later he represented Bombay in the Ranji Trophy.
Selected to play for the Rest of India against Western India States in February 1944, Cooper went in to bat at number eight and made his maiden first-class century. He finished the season with an average of 76.60. He improved further in 1944-45, averaging 91.83 and scoring two centuries. This tally included a century in the Ranji Trophy final against Holkar to help Bombay win the title.
Cooper moved to England in 1946 to study at the London School of Economics. He was signed by Middlesex and played one game in the 1949 County Championship. The following season he got a longer run in the side but struggled to make an impact averaging just 19.63 in games played for the county. He was a champion batsman for Hornsey Cricket Club for several seasons, scoring 1,117 in 19 innings in 1953 at an average of 139.62, before returning to India to practise as a barrister.