Straight bat a winner for Tim

For most of the week, Tim Cooper negotiates deals for clients in his day job.

On Saturday afternoons though, he negotiates the swing of new cricket balls when he opens the batting for Dalyellup Beach's A-grade side.

Succeeding in these two seemingly contrasting areas - and juggling the requirements of a growing family - over a period of time takes plenty of balance.

"It's more of a challenge now with my work commitments," Tim admitted.

"I don't train anywhere near as much as I used to due to work and family commitments.

"I have a good team at work that takes some of the workload from me and an extremely understanding wife.

"I'd love to train more often but work and family are my priorities."

The 32-year-old has been involved in sport for a significant part of his life, having played A-grade cricket since he was 15.

He played juniors and the early part of his senior career with South Bunbury before moving to Dardanup, where he played until lack of numbers forced the club's A-grade team to fold.

He then moved to Dalyellup Beach where he has opened the batting for several seasons and where his brother Ben is club captain.

Tim also spent a season playing for English club Stourbridge in the Worcester league, something he described as a "great experience" and played A-grade for Fremantle. His sporting talent is not limited to the cricket field either, having played several seasons of league football for South Bunbury including the club's last South West Football League premiership in 2002, which ranked among his highlights.

"It's hard to top team success with the footy premiership and representing the Country XI at three cricket carnivals, plus playing A-grade with Fremantle for a few games," he said.

Tim's passion for cricket remains strong and while work commitments often get in the way of him competing in Country Week, he juggles the joint demands by regularly working on Saturday mornings and Sundays.

"Cricket is my outlet because I don't have my phone on me," he said.

"It's always been a pretty big passion of mine - I enjoy playing, being around the club and the camaraderie of the team.

"It's an opportunity to spend time with my brother and the rest of the blokes at Dalyellup.

"I've found it hard to make the time commitment but the passion is there still and there's no reason why I can't play for another 10 years."

Tim has also spent several years working as a salesman.

He credits his team for helping to keep him organised and described himself as being "fortunate to have the support" at both work and home.

He also believes the discipline required for sport helped him in a professional sense.

"It's like running a business within a business," he said.

"Your time is your own and if you're not disciplined that can be the difference between being average and being above average.

"I don't play sport for personal accolades and I don't search for personal accolades in my work either. I've always been a good goal setter and challenge myself to have greater success."

"I've found it hard to make the time commitment but the passion is there still and there's no reason why I can't play for another 10 years." - Tim Cooper