Cowdrey at the non-striker's end

During my first two years as a student in Oxford, I used to stay the night occasionally, when I was in London, in a flat with six women. One of them was a friend of my sister Sue's, they were all older than I was and it was a very nice situation for a young bloke like me - though nothing of the sort you're now thinking might have happened did happen; it's just that I was well looked after. The flat was near Finchley Road tube station, at the top of a short hill once you turned out of Finchley Road into Netherhall Gardens. What's all this got to do with cricket? It's how it came about that on the afternoon of 25 June 1963 I was on my own in this Netherhall Gardens flat, it being the eve of my setting out with my friends Martin and Jim to hitchhike through Europe to Athens, where we were to catch a boat to Haifa. With nothing much else to do, I turned on the TV and witnessed a famous Test match ending - of the second Test between England and the West Indies at Lord's. England had lost the first Test and the situation was now dramatically poised towards the close of the second, England's ninth wicket having fallen when they were still in deficit and with only Colin Cowdrey - who had earlier retired hurt - left to bat. Here's the story of what happened:

All through the cricket had been keen and thrilling, but the climax was remarkable, Cowdrey having to go in with a broken bone in his arm... When the final over arrived any one of four results could have occurred - a win for England, a victory for West Indies, a tie or a draw... Shackleton joined Allen with nineteen minutes left and 15 runs required. They fell further behind the clock and when Hall began his last dramatic over eight were needed. Singles came off the second and third balls, but Shackleton was run out off the fourth when Worrell raced from short-leg with the ball and beat the batsman to the bowler's end. That meant Cowdrey had to come in with two balls left and six wanted. He did not have to face a ball, Allen playing out the last two. - Wisden 1964

[W]ith two balls left, Cowdrey, his left arm in plaster, walked slowly out. In the dressing-room he had been practising batting one-hand - left-handed, so as not to have to offer his broken arm to Hall. - John Clarke, Cricket with a Swing

Allen stood there, a slender Pinocchio-like figure with quiff and up-turned nose as calmly as if he were waiting for a bus. Hall tossed the ball from hand to hand, looked imploringly up at the sky and started to run. It was probably as fast a ball as he has ever bowled. It seared straight for Allen's middle stump. But Allen leant forward like a master and met it with broad and unquavering British bat. - Ian Wooldridge, Cricket, Lovely Cricket

Wesley [Hall] banged them both straight at the stumps. Allen stunned the fifth, got his bat somehow to the sixth - and the great match was over with Cowdrey a wryly smiling hero at the non-striker's end. - J.S. Barker, Summer Spectacular

Cowdrey, left arm in plaster, a photographer backing away from him as he walked slowly in, was cheered to the wicket. There was something of Wodehouse about it, something of Sapper. Allen had the strike, there were two balls to go. The batsmen conferred, but the obligation was indisputable. Hall's last two balls were fast, straight and on a length. Allen dourly pushed out the first; and then, Worrell having implored Hall not to bowl a no-ball, safely kept out the second... As he did so, the crowd, mostly West Indians, raced across Lord's. - Alan Ross, The West Indies at Lord's

Some weeks later Martin, Jim and I were getting up before dawn to work on the banana plantation at the kibbutz at Tel Katzir.

If you found this a disappointing post, in the light of the promise of its opening sentence, there's nothing I can say to you. Life is made up of many different spheres of interest.

[For links to the other posts in this series, see here.]