Bransby Cooper

Bransby Beauchamp Cooper (15 March 1844 – 7 August 1914) was a member of the Australian cricket team that played the inaugural Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1877. Cooper was born in Dacca in what was then British India in 1844. He played first-class cricket as an amateur in England for Middlesex and Kent County Cricket Clubs before moving to Australia where he played for Victoria cricket team. He was the first Indian-born cricketer to play Test cricket. He was a right hand batsman and wicket-keeper.

For the English surgeon, see Bransby Blake Cooper.

Bransby Cooper

Personal information
Full name	Bransby Beauchamp Cooper
Born	(1844-03-15)15 March 1844 Dacca, British India
Died	7 August 1914(1914-08-07) (aged 70) Geelong, Victoria
Batting	Right-handed
Role	Wicket-keeper
International information
National side	Australia
Only Test (cap 3)	15 March 1877 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1863–1867	Middlesex
1868–1869	Kent
1870/71–1877/78	Victoria
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 1 50 Runs scored 18 1,600 Batting average 9.00 20.51 100s/50s 0/0 1/7 Top score 15 101 Catches/stumpings 2/– 41/20
Source: Cricinfo, 9 October 2018

Early life

Cooper has been described as "a public-school educated product of the English establishment".[1] He was born in British India, the son of Bransby Henry Cooper and his wife Mary. His father was an officer in the East India Company and died in 1857,[2] his mother returning to England to live at Hemel Hempstead. Cooper was educated at Rugby School where he played cricket in the school XI between 1860 and 1862 where he was coached by Alfred Diver.[2][3][4]

Cricket

Cooper played club cricket for Southgate Cricket Club and Free Foresters before going on to play first-class cricket for Middlesex and Kent.[5] He made his first-class debut in 1863 for a Middlesex side against Surrey before the county club was formally founded and played in the first match Middlesex played after their formation in 1864.[2][6][7] He also played for MCC and the Gentlemen amateur side, often playing with WG Grace who made his Gentlemen debut in the same match as Cooper.[7] He played eight times for Middlesex sides between 1863 and 1867 before moving to Tunbridge Wells and playing nine times for Kent in 1868 and 1869.[2][8][9]

After the 1869 season Cooper moved firstly to the United States, where he played cricket for St George's Cricket Club at Hudson City in 1870, and then to Australia in 1871.[2] He played for Victoria in 11 matches, including nine intercolonial matches against New South Wales.[5][7][9] He has been described as being "recognised as the leading batsman in colonial cricket."[10] In the inaugural Test match at Melbourne in 1877 Cooper was expected to be named as captain as Victorians outnumbered New South Welshmen. Dave Gregory was instead elected by the players for this honour.[11] In what was to be his only Test match Cooper scored 15 and 3 runs and took 2 catches whilst becoming the first player to make their Test debut on their birthday.[7][12]

In all first-class matches, Cooper scored 1,600 runs at a batting average of 20.51, took 41 catches and made 20 stumpings.[1] His only first-class century was a score of 101 made in 1869 for the Gentlemen of the South against the Players of the South. His partnership of 283 runs with WG Grace at The Oval in 1869 set a record for an opening partnership in first-class cricket which stood until 1892.[2][13] His Wisden obituary said that he batted in a "very attractive style" with "patience and sound defence" and that he was a "fairly good wicketkeeper without approaching the front rank".[7]

Professional and later life

Cooper worked on the London Stock Exchange. He was in business in both the United States and Australia, eventually becoming a senior official in the Customs Department at Queenscliff and Melbourne.[2][13]

After marrying Helen Wilkinson in 1875 Cooper played less cricket. The couple had three daughters. He died at Geelong in 1914 aged 70[lower-alpha 1] and is buried in the Geelong Eastern Cemetery.[13][14]

Notes

1. The Rugby School Register printed in 1892 claimed that Cooper was already dead.[3]

References

1. Bransby Cooper, CricInfo. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
2. Carlaw D Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914, pp.98–99. (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-07-11.)
3. Mitchell AT (1892) Rugby School Register, vol.2, p.180. Rugby: AJ Lawrence. (Available online. Retrieved 2020-07-11.)
4. In Memorium, The Meteor, 28 May 1915, p.121. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
5. Kent's first overseas player, Kent Cricket Heritage Trust, 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
6. Lynch S (2005) The Dhaka-born Aussie, and Rameez's rare dismissal, CricInfo, 2005-09-12. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
7. Mr Bransby Beauchamp Cooper, Obituaries in 1914, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
8. Rice J (2020) Kent’s first overseas player, Kent County Cricket Club, 2020-04-05. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
9. Bransby Cooper, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
10. Work S (2013) Who was India's first great batsman?, CricInfo, 2013-07-11. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
11. Craig E (2009) Settling the Ashes, CricInfo, 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
12. Lynch S (2012) Happy birthday to me, CricInfo, 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
13. BB King of Oz Cricket, Geelong Advertiser, 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
14. Cooper Bransby Beauchamp, Geelong Cemeteries Trust. Retrieved 2016-09-02.

• Pollard, Jack, Australian Cricket: 1803–1893, The Formative Years, Sydney, The Book Company, 1995. (ISBN 0-207-15490-2)
• Pollard, Jack, Australian Cricket: The Game and the Players, Sydney, Hodder & Stoughton, 1982. (ISBN 0-340-28796-9)

External links

Bransby Cooper at ESPNcricinfo