Troy James Cooley (born 9 December 1965) is a former first-class cricketer who played for

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, and was

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

coach for the

England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

for several years before returning to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 2006.

Career

Born in

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk River, North Esk and South Esk River, South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River, Tasmania, Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launc ...

, Cooley played 33 first-class games and three one-day games for the Australian

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. 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 Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977), is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-ord ...

Steve Harmison Stephen James Harmison, (born 23 October 1978) is an English former first-class cricketer, who played all formats of the game. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODIs, and 2 T20s. He also played county cricket ...

, Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard and James Anderson 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 team. 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 Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...

in Australia in 2006, former England captain

Tony Greig Anthony William Greig (6 October 194629 December 2012) was a South African-born cricketer and commentator. Greig qualified to play for the England cricket team by virtue of his Scottish father. He was a tall () all-rounder who bowled both ...

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 Giles Ashley Fraser Giles (born 19 March 1973) is a former English first-class cricketer, who played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury. Giles played the entirety of ...

who had little recent form. At the end of the 2010–11 Ashes series, Cooley will become head coach of

Cricket Australia Cricket Australia (CA) is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Cricket'. It is incorporated as an Australian Public Company ...

's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. Cooley left Cricket Australia in 2021 and joined the BCCI where he is responsible for Coaching and setting up the National Pace Bowling Program.

Family

Spouse – Melissa Cooley, Children – Grace Cooley and Edward Cooley

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooley, Troy 1965 births Living people Australian cricket coaches Australian cricketers Coaches of the England cricket team Cricketers from Launceston, Tasmania Tasmania cricketers 20th-century Australian sportsmen