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
After the poor tour of Australia the previous year a revamped England team was taken to the Caribbean under the management of the forthright Walter Robins. Cowdrey was roped in to open the innings with Geoff Pullar as May thought he was the best player of fast bowling. Even though it was not to Cowdrey's liking he made 491 runs (54.55) and two centuries. England won the Second Test by 256 runs despite play being held up by a riot, but May suffered an internal injury and had to go to hospital every morning before play. May soldiered on, but Cowdrey knew he would soon be in charge and was so affected by nerves before the Third Test that he "would have given anything not to have played". To face the fast bowlers he wore rubber padding sewn into his shirt and recovered to make 114 and 97 despite Wes Hall taking 7/69 in England's first innings of 277, no one else making over 30. May had to fly home for treatment (and was unfit to play for 18 months) so Cowdrey took charge in the Fourth Test, winning the toss and top scoring with 65 in England's 295 as Hall took 6/90. The West Indies overtook this with 402, but Ted Dexter (110) and Raman Subba Row (100) saved the match. In the Fifth Test Brian Statham flew home to his sick son, but Cowdrey won the toss and again chose to bat, top scoring with 119 in England's 393.