Netherlands batsman Ben Cooper announced his retirement from international cricket after eight years in Orange, on Saturday. Though Cooper had made himself unavailable for the Netherlands’ most recent Super League fixtures against South Africa and Afghanistan, news of the left-handed top order bat’s retirement at the age of just 29 nonetheless comes as something of a blow to the Dutch.
Cooper is the Netherlands’ lead run-scorer in T20 internationals, having amassed 1,239 runs at an average of 28 across his 58 appearances. Since making his ODI debut for the Dutch in against Canada in 2013, Cooper has won some 127 caps for the Netherlands – finishing just six shy of 1,000 runs across ODIs and List A internationals as well as boasting an impressive record in the handful of First Class matches the Netherlands played as part of the now-defunct Intercontinental Cup, scoring 451 runs at an average of 75, including a memorable unbeaten 173* against Hong Kong in a record unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 288 in the company of Pieter Seelaar.
Cooper also called time on his domestic cricket in the Netherlands, closing an impressive career for VRA Amsterdam. Having first followed his brother Tom to the club in 2013, Cooper holds a number of records at the venerable club, including recording the first and so far only double hundred in the Dutch domestic top flight this century, in his debut season.
