Ernest Arthur Cowdrey (14 January 1902 – 5 October 1954) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

first-class

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er and tea plantation owner in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. He was the father of the England Test cricketer

Colin Cowdrey Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 1932 – 4 December 2000) 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 i ...

Life and cricket

The son of Ernest Charles Cowdrey, he was born in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

in January 1902. He was educated at

Whitgift School Whitgift School is an independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was prev ...

, where he played cricket and showed promise as a cricketer, moving his way up through the age groups at Beddington Cricket Club in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. Cowdrey harboured dreams of playing the game professionally, but did not progress his cricket to that level. After finishing his education he found employment at a bank in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, before progressing to stockbroking where he bought and sold tea stocks. He met his future wife, Kathleen Mary Taylor, at Beddington Cricket Club, with the couple later marrying. The couple moved to India after they were married, with Cowdrey setting up a tea plantation high in the Nilgiri Mountains, 100 miles from

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. He played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

in India for the

Europeans cricket team The Europeans cricket team was an Indian first-class cricket team which took part in the annual Bombay Tournament and Lahore Tournament. The team was founded by members of the European community in Bombay who played cricket at the Bombay Gymkh ...

, making a single appearance against the

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

in January 1927 in the

Madras Presidency Match The Madras Presidency Match was an annual first-class cricket fixture played in Madras (now Chennai) from the 1915–16 season to 1951–52 between teams called the Indians and the Europeans (i.e., Europeans who were living in India). The matches ...

. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed for 9 runs in the Europeans first innings by M. Venkataramanjulu, while in their second innings he was unbeaten on 27. In the Indians first innings he bowled 11 overs, going wicketless. He would often drive the ten hours to Madras to play

club cricket Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are obse ...

, a perilous undertaking on the narrow and unpaved roads in the mountains. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

hit the tea industry hard, with prices dropping by over 50%, however Cowdrey was able to maintain the plantation, though the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

again hit the plantation, with the young English managers joining the war effort. In later life he suffered from a bad heart, passing away in England in October 1954 at

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

Family

Cowdrey was the start of a cricketing dynasty, with his son

Colin Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), Thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

being born at the tea plantation in December 1932. Colin would go on to captain

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

; many stories circulate about his early relationship with Colin, including his determination for Colin to become a professional cricketer, or his writing to a friend back in England to place Colin's name down for membership of the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

shortly after he was born. Colin would go on to have two sons who would play cricket,

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), Nigerian autho ...

and

Graham Graham or Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

; Chris too would play for and captain England in Test cricket. Later generations to play the game include his great-grandson

Fabian Cowdrey Fabian Kruuse Cowdrey (born 30 January 1993) is an English former professional cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club. He made history by becoming the first third generation player to play for the county, following his father, Chris C ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowdrey, Ernest 1902 births 1954 deaths Cricketers from Kolkata Cricketers from Surrey English cricketers People educated at Whitgift School English bankers English stockbrokers British people in colonial India Businesspeople in tea Europeans cricketers