20 Facts About Jack Cowie

John Cowie was a New Zealand cricketer who played in nine Tests from 1937 to 1949.

Jack Cowie was, in the words of Wisden's report, "the outstanding player of the team" on the 1937 tour.

Jack Cowie hit form in England very quickly, taking five wickets in the first tour match, against Surrey.

Jack Cowie took the wickets of Charles Barnett and Bill Voce in the first innings to finish with four for 118 in the innings; his second innings figures, when England lost only four wickets before declaring, were two for 49.

Immediately after the Lord's Test, Jack Cowie took eight wickets, including a second innings five for 60, in the match against Somerset at Taunton.

Jack Cowie picked up an injury in the next match against Surrey, and then missed a week's cricket.

Jack Cowie returned to the team for the match with Essex and took three for 56 and five for 66, though he was overshadowed by Jack Dunning, who took 10 wickets in the game.

Jack Cowie maintained his good form through the remaining first-class matches of the tour.

Jack Cowie took eight wickets in the match, including five for 36 in the second innings, against Combined Services; then five in the game with Hampshire and seven in both the Kent and Sussex matches.

Jack Cowie took no wickets in the first Irish innings, when the home side was all out for 79; the New Zealanders replied with just 64.

Jack Cowie bowled eight overs, conceded only three singles in them, and finished with figures of six wickets for three runs, which proved the best of his whole first-class career.

Thereafter Jack Cowie's cricket was confined to New Zealand for the next 12 years through a combination of the Second World War and an extremely limited Test schedule.

Jack Cowie continued to be a regular wicket-taker in the three domestic seasons before first-class cricket was suspended in New Zealand in 1940, but New Zealand played no Test matches in this period.

The New Zealanders made only 42 in their first innings and 54 in the second; in between, Australia made 199 for eight wickets before declaring, and Jack Cowie took six of the eight wickets that fell at a personal cost of 40 runs.

Jack Cowie played in all four Tests of the summer, all four matches being drawn.

Jack Cowie took five wickets in the England first innings for 127 runs, but pulled a muscle in his leg so that he needed a runner while batting and was unable to bowl in England's second innings.

Jack Cowie finished the Test series at the head of the New Zealand bowlers by average, his 14 Test wickets costing 32.21 runs each.

Jack Cowie played soccer in the winter from the 1930s, acting as goalkeeper for Auckland for 14 seasons.

Jack Cowie later served on the New Zealand Football Association as treasurer, chairman, and delegate to FIFA.

Jack Cowie married Nyrie Wallen in 1936; they had two daughters.