Tributes pour in for Lord Cowdrey

Tributes have been pouring in for Lord Cowdrey, following his death in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The England team currently touring Pakistan have already announced that they will wear black armbands during the final Test that starts on Thursday, and many of the great names in cricket have come forward to pay their respects.

"I was lucky enough to play against him and spend quite a bit of time with him socially on the golf course and when sharing a glass of wine at the end of the day," Ian Botham told SkySports.com. "It is a sad loss to everybody and our condolences go to the Cowdrey family. I wish them well in their grief."

"He had this knack of playing what looked like a forward defensive (stroke) and it went for four through extra cover. He had exceptional timing with the ball, he was one of the guys who could have fitted into any era, like Bradman or Sobers.

"He would have been a bit like me I think, I don't think he would have enjoyed the training they do nowadays, but he was still a very elegant player."

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tim Lamb said: "Colin was, quite simply, the most eminent person in contemporary English cricket. Not only did he excel at the highest level as a player, but he held the most important administrative office in the game as chairman of the ICC.

"Above all, he was a great lover of cricket and would take equal pleasure from seeing a youngster score his first century, as he would watching an England Test match victory. To cap it all, he was a real gentleman with a wonderful human touch. Cricket is much the poorer for his loss."

From the world of politics former Prime Minister of Britain, John Major, praised Cowdrey as "the gentleman of cricket and life." Major told BBC Radio Five Live that Lord Cowdrey was a loyal friend "who took friendship seriously." He also noted Cowdrey's "concern for other people."

The sentiments were shared by former team-mate Tom Graveney. "He was a real gentleman and a great batsman," Graveney said.

Brian Close agreed. "He was a fine player and a hell of a nice chap. He was a true gentlemen and he believed that cricket should be played the right way.

"I played with him and against him. He didn't make too many runs against us but he was a very good batsman. He was such an easy looking player, you would never think he was going to make much of a mistake. Nobody's perfect, but he always looked in command.

"After he had finished playing he helped a lot with the administration of the game, and he upheld the high moral standards that existed in our days."

Former fast bowler Jeff Thomson, who gave Cowdrey such a torrid time when he was called out to Australia as a replacement for the shell-shocked English team, also paid tribute. "When he came out here in 1974-75 he was the only one that tried to get in behind the ball and he was 42 years old then," Thomson said. "He was a great player and a very good bloke. We went back to England the next year and I wasn't playing in this game but he got 150 against us playing for Kent. And that was against blokes like Lillee, (Max) Walker and (Alan) Hurst. I was watching from the stands and I'm glad I was."

Wicket-keeper in that series, Rodney Marsh, agreed: "Although he didn't get many runs against us, he stood up to Lillee and Thomson as well as any of the Englishmen. I respected him highly," Marsh said. "He was a great lover of the game and he'll be sadly missed."

Peter Burge, who debuted in the same series as Cowdrey in Australia in 1954-55, and remained a friend commented: "He was a great cricketer and I don't say that lightly," Burge said. "He was a very, very good slips fieldsman and he was a real fixture of the England team. He had enormous talent but he also had a lot of courage and he showed that when they brought him back out here."

Former England player and coach David Lloyd batted with Cowdrey when he joined the Ashes tour in 1974-75. "We actually roomed together after he came out as a replacement," he said. "I didn't know him much beforehand, but he was a senior figure and befriended me. After the tour and throughout my cricket career from then on he has always kept in touch, he has either rung or dropped me a line at every turn. I think that was the hallmark of the man, he was not only a great cricketer but a great gentleman.

"One of my memories of that tour was him coming out to join me at the crease with Lillee and Thomson in full cry, and they were eight-ball overs then. At the end of the first over we had a deliberation at mid-wicket which he started with the words 'all this is rather fun.' I think I replied 'I've been in funnier situations than this!'"

Former Australian captain Richie Benaud was another friend and admirer: "Colin was a fine cricketer and a great lover of the game. He was someone who wanted the game to do well. His career and mine ran pretty much along the same path although he went onfor longer than I did. I played against him first in 1953 when he was at Oxford. Keith Miller got him in the first innings and I got him in the second innings.

"Later on, we hadn't thought much about him except that we had heard he was a pretty good player, he played for the gentlemen of England against the Australians at Lord's and made 50 and 57 and that got him into the tour of Australia.

"I was very impressed with the way he played. He never took a backward step and he was away after that. It was a wonderful combination with Peter May...they did a lot of wonderful things for English cricket. Peter died some time ago and now Colin has gone. It's a very sad day.

"You hear a lot of people classed as being great lovers of cricket, well Colin Cowdrey did with a passion and it is sad to see him go at a relatively young age. He was a lovely, graceful player and a very good batsman. Apart from that you knew all the time that he had this love of the game. and for that he was very highly respected throughout the cricket world."

"The world of cricket is a poorer place without Colin Cowdrey. He was one on life's great givers, a man of the utmost integrity who will remain synonymous with all that is good within the game of cricket," Matthew Fleming, Chairman of the Professional Cricketers' Association commented.

"Lord Cowdrey did an enormous amount for the game of cricket after a distinguished playing career. He helped to push the game forward in any way he could particularly helping the development of children," Mike Gatting, President of the Professional Cricketers' Association, and former England captain said.

David Graveney, Chief Executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association and Chairman of Selectors also had warm words to offer."The death of Lord Cowrdey is a great loss to the game of cricket," he said. "He was hugely helpful to me in my roles both as Chairman of Selectors and Chief Executive of the PCA. He considered his appointment as Patron of the Professional Cricketers Association a great honour and was very supportive of both the players and the development of the game worldwide. We believed he was recovering well from a recent stroke so his death has come as a shock and he will be greatly missed."

Kent County Cricket Club Chairman Carl Openshaw said: "Colin Cowdrey will be remembered as one of the greatest names in the history of Kent and English cricket and his contribution to the game has been immense. As an outstandingly gifted batsman, a fine and successful captain and as a greatly respected president of Kent this year, he was closely associated with the county for 50 years.

"He cared passionately about the game of cricket, which he had served with such distinction as chairman of the International Cricket Council and as president of the MCC.

"Kent always held a special place in his heart and he will be greatly missed by everyone at the County Club to whom he was a constant source of advice and encouragement."