Troy James Cooley is a former first-class cricketer for the
Tasmanian TigersThe Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
, and was
bowlingIn the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
coach for the England cricket team for several years before returning to
AustraliaThe Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
in 2006.
Career
Born in
LauncestonLaunceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
,
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Cooley played 33
first-classFirst-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
games and three
one-dayLimited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
games for the Australian
stateThe Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
. With the bat he scored 291 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 9.38 with a top score of 32 not out. In one-day domestic cricket with the bat he never had to bat in his 3 matches that he played. With the ball in first-class cricket he took 54 wickets at 61.35 with a best of 4/41 and in one-day domestic cricket with the ball he took 4 wickets at an average of 21.25 with a best of
2/16.
Coaching
He took up coaching for the Tasmanian Tigers as at one time or another an assistant coach to the state team, the state's junior development officer, fitness advisor, pace bowling coach and under-17 coach.
As the bowling coach for the England national team, he was considered instrumental in helping players such as
Andrew FlintoffAndrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
,
Steve HarmisonStephen James Harmison MBE is an English cricketer. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODI's, and 2 T20's. He also plays county cricket for Durham....
,
Simon JonesSimon Philip Jones MBE is a Welsh cricketer, who played internationally for England. Formerly playing his county cricket for Glamorgan County Cricket Club and then Worcestershire before moving in September 2009 to Hampshire. He is currently on a month's loan with his first county, Glamorgan...
,
Matthew HoggardMatthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of...
and
James AndersonJames Michael "Jimmy" Anderson is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club and since bursting onto the scene in 2002/03, before his first full season of county cricket, Anderson has represented England in over 50 Test matches and over 100 One Day...
amongst others improve their bowling, though the form of the latter after Cooley's intervention suggests otherwise.
Following the lack of an offer from the ECB, he left his post at the end of his contract in December 2005, and in May 2006 became the bowling coach for the
Australian national teamThe Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
. The England Cricket Board (ECB) was criticised for letting him move as he was seen as a key figure in England's 2005 Ashes success. Following England's loss of the first test in
The AshesThe Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
in Australia in 2006, former England captain
Tony GreigAnthony "Tony" William Greig is a former English Test cricketer and currently a commentator.Born in Queenstown, South Africa, Greig qualified to play for England by virtue of his Scottish father. He was a tall batting all-rounder who bowled both medium pace and off spin. He became captain of the...
commented that England missed Cooley. After England had lost the fourth test, Cooley commented that the English side has lost its "intensity", and was surprised at the team bringing back injured players like
Ashley GilesAshley Fraser Giles MBE is a retired English cricketer. Giles played the entirety of his 14-year first-class career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club where he is now employed as Director of Cricket...
who had little recent form.
At the end of the
2010–11 Ashes seriesThe 2010–11 Ashes series was played in Australia as part of the England cricket team's tour of Australia during the 2010–11 cricket season. Five Tests were played from 25 November 2010 to 7 January 2011...
, Cooley will become head coach of Cricket Australia's
Centre of ExcellenceThe Australian Cricket Academy, originally located at Henley Beach in Adelaide, was formed in 1987 as a joint initiative of the Australian Institute of Sport and the Australian Cricket Board . It was designed to be a finishing school for leading young cricketers and is a program within the AIS...
in Brisbane.
External links