Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 19324 December 2000) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Oxford University (1952–1954), Kent County Cricket Club (1950–1976) and England (1954–1975). Universally known as Colin Cowdrey, he "delighted crowds throughout the world with his style and elegance", and was the first cricketer to play 100 Test matches, celebrating the occasion with 104 against Australia in 1968. In all he played 114 Tests, making 7,624 runs at an average of 44.06, overtaking Wally Hammond as the most prolific Test batsman, and taking 120 catches as a fielder, breaking another Hammond record. Cowdrey made 22 Test centuries (an England record until 2013) and was the first batsman to make centuries against the six other Test playing countries of his era; Australia, South Africa, the West Indies, New Zealand, India and Pakistan, making hundreds against them all both home and away. He toured Australia six times in 1954–55, 1958–59, 1962–63, 1965–66, 1970–71 and 1974–75, equalling Colin Blythe's record, and in his last Test fans hung out a banner 'M.C.G. FANS THANK COLIN – 6 TOURS'.
Colin Cowdrey
Though seen as Peter May's natural successor, Cowdrey failed to hold onto the England captaincy for any length of time as he suffered a number of inconvenient injuries. Gall-stones in 1962 gave the captaincy to Ted Dexter, a broken arm to Mike Smith in 1963 and a ruptured Achilles tendon to Ray Illingworth in 1969, and in each case the temporary replacement was retained after Cowdrey had recovered. It was a great disappointment to him that he never led the MCC tour of Australia despite six tours there, four times as vice-captain. After losing the First Test against Australia in 1968 he won 1 and drew 6 of the next 7 Tests, which Illingworth extended to a record run of 27 Tests without defeat until the last Test of 1971.