SIR COLIN COWDREYDescribed by one of his contemporaries, Fred Truman, as “a terrific talent who never fulfilled his potential,” Sir Colin Cowdrey lit up the game of cricket for three decades before his death on 4 December, 2000.He was a dazzling world-class batsman and exceptional slip catcher who set new records for both his country and county club of Kent, whom he successfully led to its first County Championship for 57 years in 1970.Captain of England on 23 occasions, he remains the only player in cricketing history to ever score 100 against all other Test sides.Besides his ability on the pitch and standing within the game, he was also known to many as a true gentleman, courteous to all and one of the most outstanding sportsmen of our time.Michael Colin Cowdrey, famously named by his father so that his initials were the same as the Marylebone Cricket Club, was born on 24 December, 1932, in Bangalore, India. Here, his parents owned a tea plantation and he purportedly played his first game of cricket on a pitch cut out from the jungle.Educated at Tonbridge School and later Brasenose College at Oxford, he took an early interest in the sport. He made his first-class debut for Kent County Cricket Club in 1950 and later captained the Oxford University side until 1954.His precocious talent was soon recognised by the England team, for whom he made his official debut on their tour of Australia and New Zealand during the mid-1950s.1954 saw him make his maiden Test hundred at Melbourne and further successes during this time established him as one of England’s most talented players.Rising to become captain of Kent in 1957, he also secured his first England captaincy two years later. Incredibly, England remained unbeaten for his first 10 Tests in charge and he would continue to lead his country, on and off, for the next decade.One of Sir Colin's most memorable moments came in 1964 when, having had his arm broken a year earlier by fearsome West Indies fast bowler Wes Hall, he came in to bat during a Lord’s Test with it in plaster. Although he was at a significant disadvantage, thankfully he never had to face a ball and his appearance saved England from a sure-fire defeat.By the beginning of the 1973 English season, Sir Colin was one of the all time highest aggregate Test match run scorers, with an unbelievable 7,700 Runs. After successfully leading Kent to its first County Championship since 1913 three years earlier, he played his final Test against Australia in 1974/75.Following his retirement a year on, he worked extensively behind the scenes at Kent. He was also elected President of the MCC in 1986 and, from 1989-1993, was Chairman of the International Cricket Council.Mere months after being made President of Kent County Cricket Club, he died in his sleep on 4 December, 2000, after suffering a stroke earlier in the year. He was 67.Many luminaries of the cricket world attended his memorial service at Westminster Abbey. Among countless touching tributes, the MCC flag was raised and close friend John Major spoke of his great loss. “He left us too soon,” he said in a speech, “but it was a gem of an innings.”Sir Colin was awarded a number of awards and honours throughout his illustrious career including a CBE in 1972, knighthood in 1992 and life peerage as Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge in the County of Kent in 1997. He remains one of the only cricketers to ever be presented with a life peerage for their services to the game.He became the youngest ever player to appear in a match at Lord’s when he played for Tonbridge against Clifton at the tender age of 13. Although he never realised his ambition of captaining his national side in Australia, he did score an incredible 7,624 runs in only 114 Test matches, including 22 centuries.It is a measure to his ability and standing within the game that, in 1975, despite there being faster players available and at the age of 42, Sir Colin was still chosen as an emergency replacement for the England side on a tour of Australia.
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