After a number of years out of the game with stress fractures in his back, Burt Cockley has taken his talents from Sydney to join the Western Warriors. The 27 year old was a promising player for the Blues before injuries put a halt to his career in 2009.
Cockley joined the star-studded NSW ranks as a virtual unknown, but quickly became a household name with a standout 2008/09 Shield campaign that saw him take 27 wickets at just 22.
In fact, the paceman only took a handful of games to prove his doubters wrong, as he went on to bag a pair of five wicket hauls along the way. The 5/76 he took against the Queensland Bulls remains his career best spell of bowling.
His form with the red ball also translated to success in 50 over cricket. Cockley joined the “wicket with my first ball” club when he trapped Clinton Perren LBW in a rare visit to tropical Cairns.
After taking 4/39, Cockley was quickly rushed over to India where the Australian side was experiencing one of its worst injury crises. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t make his international debut with the NSW quick suffering the first of his many injury setbacks.
Four years later, Cockley made his long awaited return from injury, but this time in the black and gold of Western Australia. Five overs into his return, and you could have been excused for thinking he was injury free. The wickets of Ben Dunk and Jonathan Wells were just reward for his perseverance, and only some lusty hitting at the hands of Ricky Ponting and James Faulkner cost him the figures he deserved.
On his return to First-class cricket, also against Tasmania, Cockley collected five wickets for the match and also hit the winning runs to ensure everyone knew he was well and truly back.
In his most recent match (a Bupa Sheffield Shield clash with the Bulls) Cockley shone, picking up 4/50 in the first innings, before claiming another three scalps in the second dig.
