Devon Cricket Board - Cooke appointed to Devon CDO post

Cooke appointed to Devon CDO post

DEVON'S new cricket development officer is Sidmouth all-rounder Matt Cooke.
Cooke, who is 24, who has played for Sidmouth since he was 10. He is head coach at the Fort Field and has coached at club and county level since he was 16.
He holds an ECB level three coaching certificate and is looking forward to passing his level four in due course.
Cooke was among 36 applicants, five of whom were shortlisted, for the long-established post.
The job, based at the Devon Cricket Centre on the University of Exeter, will keep Cooke busy in a variety of roles.
'There is a lot of work with schools and clubs on the Chance to Shine programme and getting clubs Clubmark accredited, which goes with it,' said Cooke.
'Other areas I will be working on are teacher education and women's and girls' cricket, which is really taking off in Devon.'
Cooke is the holder of the record for the highest score in Devon youth cricket - 201 not out made in July, 2005 at Exmouth against Cornwall.
Although he would have liked a career in the professional game it wasn't to be, but full-time coaching is a good alternative.
'I have been a coach for some time and the opportunity to make it a career was too good to miss,' said Cooke, who has been working for a removal firm since leaving full-time education.
Cooke replaces Andrew Fairbairn as Devon's CDO, Fairbairn moved across the border to Somerset earlier this year where he is now their development manager

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