 He had toured as an undergraduate with Freddie Brown in 1950–51 and had captained England in 1954 when Len Hutton was ill. Sheppard was a favourite with the Old Guard at Lord's, who had wanted him to captain the tour of Australia in 1954–55 instead of the Yorkshire professional.They wanted him to captain the Fourth and Fifth Tests against Pakistan, but Sheppard had not played serious cricket for years.He made 112 for the Gentlemen and was chosen for the tour, but Dexter was confirmed as captain for the remainder of the home series and the forthcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand with Cowdrey as vice-captain.