 The conservatives saw cricket as uniting the Commonwealth with sportsmanship and social skills as important as cricketing ability and preferred the old style amateur captains with public school backgrounds.In the 1960s they had supported the avuncular Colin Cowdrey, but he was a naturally cautious captain whose stints as England captain were broken by ill-timed injuries.The reformers called for tough, professional captains dedicated to winning Test matches, such as Brian Close and Ray Illingworth, who succeeded Cowdrey in 1969 when he damaged his Achilles heel.