Stephen Cook displayed a calm head and sound judgement in making a century on Test debut, exactly the attributes that has helped him beyond the boundary ropes.
If you thought Stephen Cook looked unflappable while meticulously compiling a century on Test debut against England, consider that the 33-year-old has an LLB degree, captains the Highveld Lions, sits on the SACA Executive Committee and is a family man.
“From an early age my parents instilled in me the importance of academics and being well-rounded,” Cook recalls. “Even as my sporting career started to blossom I was always encouraged to apply my mind to my studies. What helped was that I’ve always been a fairly disciplined person and also my mom and dad are both teachers by profession and helped me a lot too.”
So how did the opening batsman settle on law as a field of study?
“It is an interesting story. After school I was going to enrol at RAU, which is now UJ, to study sports management but then I got included in the national academy [that 2002 intake included Hashim Amla, Ryan McLaren, Rory Kleinveldt, Johan Botha and Alviro Petersen] so I ended up not studying. That was probably the biggest blessing for me as it gave me an extra year to mature and find out what I was really interested in so in 2003 I enrolled to do a BCom Law. I wasn’t 100 percent sure if law was exactly what I wanted to do, so I hedged my bets and did economics and law as my two majors. I finished that degree in three years, then took 2006 off from my studies to go and play club cricket in England for Reading CC. When I returned I decided to do an LLB, which took me a further three years, so I had a double degree at the end of it.”
As it happened, Cook broke the South African first-class record by scoring 390 at the tail-end of his final year in 2009, but studying wasn’t all plain sailing…
“It was hard work at times, I won’t lie. What started as a three year degree ended up as a six year endeavour and over that time the game became more and more professional and the time constraints became even tighter.”
Cook further highlights how the changes in the local game altered his schedule.
“I was fortunate that I started my career before the franchise era. We’d have practices at three in the afternoon, which left me with most of my day to focus on studying, but towards the end guys were clocking in at 9am for gym sessions. Once it changed, I had to be incredibly disciplined with my work. However I also had fellow students willing to help me when I missed lectures.”
Despite other sacrifices, Cook sums up that period as ‘good times’…
“I can remember many an evening where the boys were going out to celebrate but I was holed up in my hotel room studying for an exam or a test the next day. There were also a few moments where I felt I was missing out, but in the end it was all worth it. Studying law offered up some interesting cases so when we were sitting in the change rooms there was always a hive of activity around my case law books with the guys asking a lot of ‘what would happen if…’ questions. The guys embraced it and the coaches always understood that studying was an important part of my life and gave me that flexibility to miss a practice or leave early. There a lot of people to thank, without whom it would have been nearly impossible to complete such a tough degree.”
With his recent elevation to the national team, Cook’s focus right now is on cementing his place with the Proteas, but that doesn’t mean his legal training is going to waste.
“In recent years I’ve been on the SACA Executive Committee, which allows me to use my legal background. I see my role as a player representative and I like to think that because I have lots of experience, and am quite mature and level headed I’m a good problem solver and balance everyone’s interests. One of the main causes I’ve been championing has been setting up a players’ committee so that there’s more involvement from us in terms of scheduling, umpiring and disciplinary procedures… all the side issues that people don’t see every day but play a big role in players’ lives. Other things include making sure all the franchise players are on the same page in terms of playing regulations.”
In addition to all these duties there’s his eight-year marriage to Laura, their toddler Elianna, and captaining the Highveld Lions to consider.
“Mary-Jane Goebel, our PDM [Personal Development Manager] at the Lions, has been excellent during the last few years while I’ve been captain, letting me know about summits and alternative ideas and forwarding articles. She makes guys realise that there’s more to life than just cricket, which is particularly important for the younger guys.
“Being a dad also brings a great perspective to life. If I think about it, the times that I’ve played my best cricket have been when I’ve had other things going on in my life. For instance if I got a duck, I couldn’t dwell on it if I had to go write an exam, likewise now when my daughter smiles at me or shouts ‘dada!’ a low score is quickly pushed to the back of my mind. Sometimes I think players get too happy when they do well and too sad when they don’t, so anything that moderates your mind-set can only be good for you. I’m a big advocate in that.”
