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.
John Halliday (cricketer)
Halliday was educated at the City of Oxford High School for Boys, where he excelled at cricket. He debuted for Oxfordshire in the 1932 Minor Counties Championship, and, while studying at Merton College, Oxford, made his debut in first-class cricket for the university cricket team in 1934 against Gloucestershire. Making five first-class appearances for the university in 1934, Halliday was also selected to play for the Minor Counties cricket team "against" Oxford University in that same year. He played first-class cricket for university until 1937, making a total of 25 appearances. Though unable to recapture his form as a schoolboy cricketer, Halliday nonetheless scored a total of 766 runs at an average of 23.21, making eight half centuries and top-scoring with 87. As a bowler, he took 18 wickets at an average of 37.66, with best figures of 3/11. Halliday's minor counties career with Oxfordshire continued until 1939, making sixty appearances. He was elected county captain in 1938.