Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge (24 December 1932 – 4 December 2000) was an English cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1976, and in 114 Test matches for England from 1954 to 1975. He was born in Ootacamund, Madras Presidency, British India and died in Littlehampton, West Sussex.
Cowdrey was a right-handed batsman who played in 692 first-class matches. He scored 42,719 career runs at an average of 42.89 runs per completed innings with a highest score of 307 as one of 107 centuries. He was an occasional right-arm leg spin bowler, taking 65 first-class wickets with a best innings return of 4/22. An outstanding slip fielder, he held 638 career catches. Cowdrey was the first player to make 100 appearances in Test cricket and also the first batsman to score a Test century, both home and away, against six other teams.
Colin Cowdrey was born on his family's tea plantation at Ootacamund, Madras Presidency, although his birthplace has often been misrecorded as Bangalore, 100 miles to the north. His father, Ernest Cowdrey, was a keen cricketer who had played in the Minor Counties Championship for Berkshire. Ernest made an application for Colin to join Marylebone Cricket Club while still an infant. Colin's mother was Molly Cowdrey (née Taylor), who played tennis and hockey. He had no schooling in India, but his father and the servants taught him how to play cricket from a very early age.
When Cowdrey was five, he was taken to England where he attended the Homefield Preparatory School in Sutton from 1938 to 1945. In 1945, aged 12, he went to Alf Gover's Cricket School for three weeks and his father enrolled him at Tonbridge School so that he could qualify for Kent County Cricket Club. On Gover's recommendation, Cowdrey was selected for the school's first team. In July 1946, aged thirteen, Cowdrey played at Lord's for Tonbridge School against Clifton College. He scored 75 and 44 and, bowling leg spin, took 3/58 and 5/33. Tonbridge won the match by two runs. The school later established the Cowdrey Scholarships for sporting excellence in his memory.
Cowdrey was asked to play for Kent Young Amateurs in 1948 and made 157 against Sussex Young Amateurs, 87 against Middlesex Young Amateurs and 79 against Surrey Young Amateurs. He was asked to join the Kent Second XI in 1949 and played three matches in August against Norfolk, Wiltshire and Devon in the Minor Counties Championship. In 1950, he was made captain of his school cricket team and scored 126* for the Public Schools XI against Combined Services at Lord's. Less than a week later, Kent selected Cowdrey for his first-class debut in a County Championship match against Derbyshire at the County Ground in Derby. He held a catch and took a wicket in Derbyshire's first innings of 345/6 declared. He was fifth in the Kent batting order and scored 15 in his debut innings before he was caught by Derbyshire captain Pat Vaulkhard off a ball by Cliff Gladwin. Kent were all out for 96 and Vaulkhard imposed the follow on. Cowdrey made Kent's top score of 26 in the second innings. He was bowled by Gladwin whose match return was 10/86. Kent were all out for 151 and Derbyshire won by an innings and 98 runs.
First-class and international career
Cowdrey left Tonbridge School in the summer of 1951 and, having been offered an exhibition, became a student at the University of Oxford. He was there till the summer of 1954 and studied geography at Brasenose College. He joined the Oxford University Cricket Club and, in each season from 1952 to 1954, played for them in the early weeks and then for Kent till the end of the season. He captained the Oxford team in 1954.
Before going into residence at Oxford in the autumn of 1951, Cowdrey scored his maiden first-class century against them for the Free Foresters. This match was played at the University Parks 2–5 June and Cowdrey scored 143 at a run a minute in the first innings. Free Foresters totalled 317 all out but the university replied with 395/5 declared. In their second innings, Free Foresters scored 355 all out. Errol Holmes was the top scorer with 162 and Cowdrey contributed 39. Oxford needed 278 and won by 8 wickets. Cowdrey made his debut in the Gentlemen v Players series soon afterwards, playing for the Gentlemen. In his first match for them at North Marine Road, Scarborough, he scored 106. The match ended in a draw. In all matches, Cowdrey scored 1,189 runs in the 1951 season and was awarded his Kent county cap. He received the cap from team captain David Clark after an innings of 71 against the touring South Africans. At the age of eighteen, he was the youngest player to be capped by Kent.
Cowdrey was a surprise choice for the England tour of Australia in 1954–55. He was called in to replace the injured Willie Watson. According to Cowdrey, England captain Len Hutton later told him that his selection was a gamble, but it was thought that his technique would be good on the hard Australian wickets. Frank Tyson recalled Hutton telling Cowdrey and himself that they would be secondary players on the tour, there to gain experience with probably no involvement in the Test series.
On the team's arrival in Perth, Cowdrey received a telegram that his father had died, but the team rallied round him and he played in the opening match against a local Western Australian Country XI. He scored 48* and took 4/35 with his leg breaks. The party moved on to Sydney where Cowdrey was selected to play against New South Wales. This became a key match in his career as he scored a century in each innings and thereby earned his place in the England team for the first Test, even though he failed in the next match against Queensland.
The first Test, Cowdrey's international debut, was played at the Brisbane Cricket Ground and Australia scored 601/8 declared after Hutton had won the toss and sent them in. England's batting collapsed in the first innings, though Cowdrey made 40, and they had to follow on. Cowdrey scored 10 in the second innings and England, with totals of 190 and 257 were unable to avoid a heavy defeat by an innings and 154 runs. After that, England staged a recovery and won the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground by 38 runs, having been 74 behind on first innings. In the second innings, Cowdrey (54) shared a fourth wicket partnership of 116 with Peter May (104) which enabled England to reach 296 and left Australia needing 223 to win. Frank Tyson and Brian Statham bowled them out for 184 to level the series.
In the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, England were in trouble at 41/4 and were rescued by Cowdrey's maiden Test century. He scored 102 out of 191 after sharing partnerships of 74 with Trevor Bailey and 54 with Godfrey Evans. Some writers have said this was the highlight of Cowdrey's career as it laid a foundation for eventual victory by 128 runs after Tyson, with a return of 7/27, shattered Australia's batting in their second innings. Among those who praised Cowdrey's performance were Bill O'Reilly, who said it was the best Test innings he had ever seen and, Tyson who doubted if Cowdrey had "ever scored a better hundred". Cowdrey made 102 of England's first innings of 191 and once again this was enough for Tyson to bowl his team to victory as the tourists took a 2–1 lead in the series.
Australia opened the fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval with a total of 323. In reply, England scored 341 including 79 by Cowdrey. Australia could only manage 111 in their second innings. Cowdrey was injured when the ball hit him in the face while he was fielding. He batted in the second innings and was out for 4 but the injury worsened and he was hospitalised for several days. England scored 97/5 to win the match by 5 wickets. The final Test at Sydney was drawn and so England won the series 3–1 to retain The Ashes.
On his return from Australia, Cowdrey decided to drop out of Oxford and concentrate on his cricket career. As he was no longer an undergraduate, he was called up for national service in the Royal Air Force. However, he was almost immediately discharged because of a hereditary disability of rigid toes, on which he had previously had an operation. Cowdrey cemented his place in the England team and took part in each of the home series during this period. He also went to South Africa in 1956–57. In 1957, during the Test series against West Indies, Cowdrey and May shared a fourth wicket partnership of 411 at Edgbaston. Cowdrey scored 154 and May 285*. At the time, it was the third highest stand in Test cricket.