Norman George Cowans (born 17 April 1961) is a former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played in 19

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

and 23

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

s between 1982 and 1985 for the

England cricket team The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. Engla ...

. 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 one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

and

Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Hampshire. Hampshire teams formed by earlier organisations, principal ...

s. Cowans was a right-arm fast bowler and a right-handed lower-order batsman and became the 500th person to play Test cricket for England.

Life and career

Born at Enfield in

Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica Saint Mary is a parish located in the northeast section of Jamaica. With a population of 114,227 it is one of Jamaica's smallest parishes, located in the county of Middlesex. Its chief town and capital is Port Maria, located on the coast. It i ...

, Cowans moved to England with his family when he was eleven. He played

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

cricket for Middlesex and then Hampshire, winning four Championships (

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, and

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

) and four limited-overs titles (all with Middlesex) in his fifteen seasons. On his first tour overseas, on England's defence of

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...

in Australia in 1982/83, he often struggled, was wayward in line and length, and was underbowled by

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Bob Willis Robert George Dylan Willis (born Robert George Willis; 30 May 1949 – 4 December 2019) was an English cricketer, who represented England between 1971 and 1984. A right-handed fast bowler, Willis is regarded by many as one of the greatest fa ...

, until the crucial Fourth Test at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, a match England had to win if they had any hope of retaining

they won at home in 1981. Cowans played the game of his life at the MCG in 1982, where he took a match-winning 6 for 77, following his first innings 2 for 69 (which included the first-ball scalp of

Greg Chappell Gregory Stephen Chappell (born 7 August 1948) is a former cricketer who represented Australia at international level in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI). The second of three brothers to play Test cricket, Chappell was the pre-eminen ...

), in England's dramatic three-run victory. This victory sent the series to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

for the deciding Fifth Test, which ended in a draw, meaning Australia regained the Ashes. The ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' review of the tour observed: "In retrospect Willis may have felt that more could and should have been made of Norman Cowans's bowling". The following summer Cowans was in the England squad for the 1983

Cricket World Cup The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), e ...

, and although he only played one match in the tournament, he helped England to win a subsequent test series against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The following winter Cowans took his second and last

five-wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Takin ...

in Tests, helping to derail a

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

run chase with three wickets in an over. England lost this series, but the following winter Cowans was on the winning side, and he played in every test as

David Gower David Ivon Gower (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 Te ...

's team surprised

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. This was Cowans' most lucrative series, and he took 14 wickets, including two at the start of India's second innings in the Delhi Test, a result that at the time "ended England's longest-ever spell without a victory". Cowans played for England for the last time in the

1985 Ashes The Australia national cricket team, Australian cricket team toured England in the 1985 English cricket season, 1985 season to play a six-match Test cricket, Test series against England national cricket team, England. England won the series 3–1 ...

, assisting England's victory in the 1st Test at

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

by extending England's first-innings lead by 49 in a last-wicket stand with

Paul Downton Paul Rupert Downton (born 4 April 1957) is the current Director of Cricket at Kent County Cricket Club. He had previously been the managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board between February 2014 and April 2015. He is a former ...

and taking the wickets of

David Boon David Clarence Boon (born 29 December 1960) is an Australian cricket match referee, former cricket commentator and Australian cricket team, international cricketer whose international playing career spanned the years 1984–1996. A right-hand ...

and

Allan Border Allan Robert Border (born 27 July 1955) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test ma ...

. In this series England would regain the Ashes lost in 1982-3, and it would be their last victory in a home Ashes series for 20 years. Although he toured Sri Lanka with an England 'B' side that winter, taking 6 for 50 in the last unofficial 'Test', he was not picked for England again. He played his best Test cricket away from England (he averaged ten runs fewer a wicket overseas). He remained however part of a successful

team, bowling alongside

Wayne Daniel Wayne Wendell Daniel (born 16 January 1956) is a former cricketer, who played as a right arm fast bowler. Daniel featured for the West Indies, Middlesex, Barbados and Western Australia in his cricketing career. Cricket career Born in St Phi ...

Simon Hughes Sir Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a former British politician. He is now the Chancellor of London South Bank University, an External Adviser to The Open University, and UK Strategic Adviser to Talgo. Hughes was Deputy Leader ...

, Neil Williams, and, eventually

Angus Fraser Angus Robert Charles Fraser (born 8 August 1965) is an English cricket administrator. He served as the managing director of Middlesex Cricket between 2009 and 2021, before assuming a new role heading the club's academy He is also a former E ...

. A highlight of his county career came in 1983 when he took 4 for 39 to help Middlesex win the final of the

Benson and Hedges Cup The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals. It was the third major one-day competition established in Englan ...

, having previously taken 4 for 33, and won the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

award, in the semi-final. As late as 1990 and 1993 he was still part of the Middlesex sides that won the

, topping the first-class bowling averages in 1993 with 16 wickets at 14.62 (although only playing 5 County Championship matches and 1 university match).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowans, Norman 1961 births Cricketers at the 1983 Cricket World Cup English cricketers English people of Jamaican descent England Test cricketers England One Day International cricketers Middlesex cricketers Hampshire cricketers Black British sportsmen Living people Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom D. B. Close's XI cricketers People from Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica