Lawrence Cook (cricketer)

Lawrence Cook (born Lawrence Whalley; 28 March 1884 – 2 December 1933) was an English cricketer and footballer.

Lawrence Cook

Personal information
Full name	Lawrence Whalley Cook
Born	28 March 1884 Preston, England
Died	2 December 1933 (aged 49) Wigan, England
Nickname	Lol
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1907–1923	Lancashire
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 206 Runs scored 2,126 Batting average 12.50 100s/50s 0/1 Top score 54 not out Balls bowled 44,399 Wickets 839 Bowling average 21.20 5 wickets in innings 46 10 wickets in match 8 Best bowling 8-39 Catches/stumpings 139/0
Source: CricInfo

Cricket career

Following in the footsteps of brother Billy Cook, Lawrence first came to notice playing for Penwortham Cricket Club. In one game in 1902 he had bowling figures of 9 wickets for 9 runs, yet it was a game Penwortham failed to win.[1] He subsequently had spells as a professional with Lytham Cricket Club, Liverpool Cricket Club, and then Preston Cricket Club.[2]

In 1907 he played his first games for the Lancashire County Cricket Club. His career at county level was somewhat unusual. For most of the time he was not a regular member of the senior 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 emerged 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.

When he returned, however, Cook - now bowling at a slower pace than in 1911 - immediately became, for the first time, indispensable to Lancashire. Although he still failed to achieve much against strong counties, he did a notable performance against Gloucestershire with nine for 49, and was second in the Lancashire bowling averages. 1920, however, saw Cook jump right to the top of the tree with 156 first-class wickets for less than fifteen runs each, and some notable performances in tandem with Harry Dean and Cecil Parkin, notably against Kent at Old Trafford in July. Although he did not have the honour of representing the Players or touring Australia, Cook would no doubt have been chosen as a Cricketer of the Year by Wisden but for the special portrait of Pelham Warner to commemorate Middlesex's Championship win. In the dry summer of 1921, Cook showed himself to be one of the most tireless and consistent workhorses in county cricket, even if no selector thought he had enough sting to be a Test match bowler. He took 151 wickets without one haul of seven in an innings, and in 1922 he maintained his accuracy and spin notably when taking seven for 23 on a crumbling pitch.

Lancashire awarded him a benefit in 1923, but although he was still a most effective stock bowler Cook that season appeared to have lost much of his spin and was dropped for a number of matches late in the season. He still took almost 100 wickets even if at quite a high cost, but with Ted McDonald qualified it was not seen as worthwhile to retain him for 1924.

With his cricket career winding down, he spent most of the 1924 cricket season as the professional with Lancashire League team Rawtenstall.[3]

Personal information
Position(s)	Outside Right, Centre Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1904–1905	Blackpool	7	(0)
1905	Nelson
1905-06	Preston North End	0	(0)
1906	Nelson
1906-1907	Lancaster
1907-1908	Southport Central
1908	Gainsborough Trinity	9	(3)
1908-1910	Rossendale United
1910-1911	Bacup
1911-1912	Chester
1912-1913	Stockport County	10	(4)
1913-1914	Chester
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Football career

Lol also had a lengthy career as a footballer, having three separate spells playing for clubs in the Football League.[4][5] In the 1904-05 season he had a short run as an outside right in the Blackpool first team. He next joined Lancashire Combination team Nelson, before a short spell at Preston North End. He made no first team appearances at Preston, and soon returned to Nelson. This was followed by spells at Lancaster and Southport Central. Now playing as a centre forward, in the 1908-09 season he had another short first team run playing for Gainsborough Trinity. He next played for Bacup, and this was followed by a season at Chester, when he was an extremely prolific goalscorer averaging over a goal per game.[6] He attracted the interest of Stockport County, and in 1912-13 experienced his third run of first team football at Football League level. His best performance was to score a hat trick in a 3-1 win over Huddersfield Town on 5 October 1912. Once again his time playing at Football League level was relatively brief, and in the 1913-14 season he was back playing in the Lancashire Combination with Chester.

Personal life

Born Lawrence Whalley, he was listed under this name in both the 1891 United Kingdom Census and the 1901 United Kingdom Census returns.[7] However throughout his professional career as a cricketer and a footballer he was always referred to as having the surname Cook.

His father was the Preston Cricket Club groundsman for over 20 years, and Lol was one of four brothers to play cricket professionally. His elder brother Billy Cook was also a successful cricketer and footballer, and he also played some games for Lancashire County Cricket Club [8]

References

1. Lancashire Daily Post 10 May 1902 (British Newspaper Archive).
2. Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser 7 November 1905 (British Newspaper Archive).
3. "Lawrence Cook". Nigel Stockley and CricketArchive.
4. "Lol Cook". Soccerdata Ltd.
5. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 54. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
6. Sumner, Chas (1997). On The Borderline - The Official History of Chester City F.C. Yore Publications.
7. 1891 United Kingdom Census, 1901 United Kingdom Census (Find My Past).
8. Lancashire Daily Post 12 May 1906 (British Newspaper Archive).