Colin Cowdrey

The Right Honourable

The Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge

CBE

Cowdrey at The Oval in 1980
Personal information
Full name	Michael Colin Cowdrey
Born	(1932-12-24)24 December 1932 Ootacamund, Madras Presidency, British India
Died	4 December 2000(2000-12-04) (aged 67) Littlehampton, West Sussex, England
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm leg spin
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 379)	26 November 1954 v Australia
Last Test	13 February 1975 v Australia
Only ODI (cap 2)	5 January 1971 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1950–1976	Kent
1951-1960	Gentlemen
1952–1975	Marylebone Cricket Club
1952–1954	Oxford University
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 114 1 692 87 Runs scored 7,624 1 42,719 1,978 Batting average 44.06 1.00 42.89 29.52 100s/50s 22/38 0/0 107/231 3/12 Top score 182 1 307 116 Balls bowled 119 – 4,876 59 Wickets 0 – 65 3 Bowling average – – 51.21 14.33 5 wickets in innings – – 0 0 10 wickets in match – – 0 0 Best bowling – – 4/22 1/0 Catches/stumpings 120/– 0/– 638/– 38/–
Source: CricketArchive, 29 December 2022

Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, CBE (24 December 1932 – 4 December 2000)^[1] was an English cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1976, and in 114 Test matches for England from 1954 to 1975. He was born in Ootacamund, Madras Presidency, British India and died in Littlehampton, West Sussex.

Cowdrey was a right-handed batsman who played in 692 first-class matches. He scored 42,719 career runs at an average of 42.89 runs per completed innings with a highest score of 307 as one of 107 centuries. He was an occasional right-arm leg spin bowler, taking 65 first-class wickets with a best innings return of 4/22. An outstanding slip fielder, he held 638 career catches. Cowdrey was the first player to make 100 appearances in Test cricket and also the first batsman to score a Test century, both home and away, against six other countries.