Colin Cowdrey
Cowdrey won a Heath Harrison Exhibition award and a place at Brasenose College at Oxford University to study geography in the autumn of 1951. He played for the Oxford University Cricket Club in 1952 and 1953 at the start of the season and the rest of the summer for Kent. He made 50 and 57 for the Gentlemen vs the 1953 Australians at Lords. In 1954 he captained Oxford University and was a surprise choice for the MCC tour of Australia, replacing Willie Watson. 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. At 21, Cowdrey was the youngest man in the side and the schoolboy photographs used in the brochures made him appear younger. He had yet to make a century in the County Championship, go on tour or play a Test, though he was made twelfth man for the Fourth Test against Pakistan and fielded for 20 minutes, but was so nervous he could barely watch.
Colin Cowdrey
Cowdrey replaced Trevor Bailey as Peter May's vice-captain for the tour of Australia. He was not confident that he could lead the veteran England team in May's absence, but this was Bailey's last tour and Cowdrey needed to be tested as a future England captain. The disastrous 1958-59 Ashes series began well enough with Cowdrey scoring of 65 not out, 78 and 100 not out against the state teams, but when deputising as captain Cowdrey was run out by Ian Huntington after he stepped forward after an lbw appeal. Later on the tour he struck 101 runs in 84 minutes with 10 boundaries to win a jovial match against the Prime Minister's XI by four wickets. England lost the first two Tests, but Cowdrey's 100 not out saved the Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, adding 182 with May (92) and spending 80 minutes in the 90s. Cowdrey's 84 could not save the Fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval, and he was bowled by the 'Blond Giant' Gordon Rorke, whose seven foot stride and his long drag took him three yards down the wicket before he released the ball, and Cowdrey joked "I was frightened that he might tread on my toes". The Fifth Test saw Cowdrey in fine form with seven boundaries in his 44, but he was run out when he trotted in for a single, even though the umpire was unsighted by the wicket-keeper Wally Grout. Cowdrey took strike again unaware of his dismissal until he was asked to depart. England lost the Test as Australia recovered the Ashes 4–0. Cowdrey made only 20 runs (10.00) in the follow up tour of New Zealand, which England won 1–0.