Russi Cooper
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A brief biography
Gaurav Gupta, August 1, 2023: The Times of India
Cooper was the only living Indian to have played in the Pentangulars, the pre-Independence league that hosted teams formed on community lines, and the Ranji Trophy. He played for the Parsees (1941-42 to 1944-45), Bombay (1943-44 to 1944-45) and Middlesex (1949-1951).
Cooper featured in 22 First-Class matches-with his crowning glory coming in the 1944-45 Ranji Trophy final, in which he scored a century for Bombay (as Mumbai was called back then) against Holkar. From 1940-55, he played with and against the best cricketers of that time.
Cooper scored 52 & 104 in the 1944-45 Ranji Trophy final between Bombay and Holkar at the Brabourne Stadium. That First-Class season, in which he scored 551 runs @ 91. 83 with two tons and five fifties, turned out to be Cooper’s last in India. At the age of just 23, he went to the London School of Economics. In 1947, while studying at the LSE, he played for Middlesex County with the likes of Dennis Compton, JJ Warr and Bill Edrich.
Russi Cooper, who was the oldest — living FirstClass cricketer in the world, having celebrated his 100th birthday on December 14 last year, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence Kemp’s Corner in South Bombay. He is survived by his daughter Dinaz and son-in-law Hoshang Zaveri, who live in Pune.