Tom Cooper

Cooper is one of several international players who ply their trade in Australia, but are eligible to play for Netherlands on paternity issues.

Born on November 26, 1986, Cooper is a right handed batsman who can also bowl useful off-breaks. He is a regular in the Southern Redbacks team and has made Adelaide Oval his home. Cooper emerged in the Australian domestic scene with several top performances but it was his knock of 160 for the Prime Ministers XI against the visiting West Indies team in February, 2010 that made the selectors recognize his talent.

Cooper qualified to play for the Netherlands as his mother was born in Dutch New Guinea. He made heads roll in the Dutch set-up and scored half-centuries in each of his first three ODIs. Cooper was also a part of the Netherlands team that played in the 2011 ICC cricket WC where he was a consistent if not a heavy scorer. His best was an unbeaten 55 against West Indies in Delhi.

Cooper had a magnificent T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, where he was the second highest run-scorer with 231 runs in 7 innings. He was also instrumental in the famous run-chase against Ireland. Needing to chase down 190 in under 14 overs, Cooper smacked a quickfire 45 off 15 balls, that win allowed them to qualify for the Super 10's.

By Pradeep Krishnamurthy

As of April 2014