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Colin, later Lord Cowdrey, the man christened with the initials MCC, was
always destined for a cricket career. He was born in India, where his
family were servants of Empire and his father played for the Europeans
in the Ranji Trophy. Colin was sent to school at Tonbridge, and he first
appeared at Lord's as a 13 year-old. He was still a teenager when the
selectors sent him on the first of his six tours of Australia, with Len
Hutton in 1954-55 and he scored 102 out of 191 in the Third Test in
Melbourne. On Hutton's retirement he was converted into an opening bat,
though he was never comfortable in the role. He and Peter May added 411
for the fourth wicket against West Indies at Edgbaston in 1957. Cowdrey
succeeded May as captain, and led them 27 times, but was discarded
several times in favour of Ted Dexter, Mike Smith, and finally Raymond
Illingworth.
His finest hour as captain came when he beat West Indies on
the 1968 tour and drew with Australia later that summer. In that Ashes
series he became the first international player to reach 100 Tests and
celebrated with a century. Injury cost him the captaincy a year later
and he had to be content with the vice-captaincy in Australia in
1970-71. He was recalled in 1974-75 when Lillee and Thomson were
scything through the England batsmen. Flown out as an unexpected
reinforcement he joked to Aussie journalists: 'I handled Gregory and
MacDonald.....' - the Australian pace attack of the 1920s - ....'So I
can handle these two.' On one occasion he was even pressed back into
service as an opener. In his early days he was a promising leg spinner,
but did not develop although he was used as an occasional change bowler.
He was President of MCC in 1986-87. (Bob Harragan)
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