High hopes for cricket young gun

LISMORE teenager Cooper Williams has capped a standout season with an unbeaten century in senior men’s cricket—just a year after helping Marist Brothers to a premiership at age 14.

The talented batsman is one of the youngest players to win a Far North Coast LJ Hooker League title in the competition’s 30-year history and is now being tipped as one of the region’s brightest cricketing prospects.

This season, he finished as one of the top run-scorers in the senior men’s competition after scoring an unbeaten double century in a junior grand final last year.

Williams also captained the NSW under-15 side at the national All Schools championships in Adelaide last month.

He has caught the eye of state-level selectors and coaches across New South Wales and Queensland.

“I’ve put a fair bit of work into my batting; I’ve got a lot of help from my dad and numerous coaches,” Cooper said.

“I have a coach in Brisbane now, too, he’s been really helpful and comes down when he can.

“It comes down to putting in the hard work and lots of training.

“I’m on a month’s break at the moment where I’m not allowed to touch a cricket bat for a month.

“After that I’m straight back into it and I’ll start thinking about next season.”

In February, he took part in a charity game at Oakes Oval, rubbing shoulders with cricket legends including Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie and Stuart MacGill. He was one of the only local juniors invited to play.

“There are a lot of different competitions and tournaments we can play in now which has been good for me,” Cooper said.

“I’d like to play in the NSW Country under-17 team next season.

“In the long-term I would love to be able to play a Test match for Australia.”

Marist Brothers club president Matt Cleaver said Cooper’s confidence and game awareness had grown rapidly over the past two seasons.

“Once he got a big score this season, the shackles were off and he never looked back,” Cleaver said.

“I know how much it means to him and it’s incredible to see how well he reads the game for a young bloke.

“I think he’s going to be something pretty special.”