The oldest surviving first-class cricketer Rustom Sorabji Cooper passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in Mumbai on Monday, July 31. He died at the age of 100.
Cooper, a right-handed batter played a total of 22 first-class matches during his playing career and was born on December 14, 1922. He played for Mumbai, Middlesex, and Parsees among others.
During the 1943-44 and the 1944-45 seasons, Rustom averaged a mindboggling 76.60 and 91.83 with the willow in hand. He played a monumental role in helping Bombay (now Mumbai) win the Ranji Trophy in the 1944-45 season. Rustom scored a half-century (52) and a match-winning hundred (104) in the second innings as Bombay won the summit clash by 374 runs.
In 29 innings of his first-class career, he notched up three centuries and averaged 52.39 with a personal best of 127*. He also grabbed seven catches.
