Ed Cowan’s dream of playing Test match cricket has finally, after a decade of slogging it out in state cricket, come true. But it will be bittersweet – like a wedding at which the favorite grandparent could not attend.
The death of Peter Roebuck affected Eddie Cowan probably more than any other player in Australia. Cowan’s career was not made on the back of the nine first-class centuries he has made in the last 12 months but in the pristine nets at his high school Cranbrook in Sydney’s East – the same school at which Peter Roebuck had previously been an English teacher and coach of the first XI.
By the time Cowan was old enough to be picked for the firsts, Roebuck was a full-time journalist and his involvement with the school was as a specialist batting coach to the school’s elite batsmen.
But one stood head and shoulders above all others. At the time, Cowan would have been 16 but he looked 12. Apart from his superior batting technique – what set Cowan apart was his appetite for hard work and pursuit of perfection in his batting.
When the official team training would end Cowan would spend intense “throw down” sessions where he and Roebuck – the two perfectionists – would not go home until every crease in the technique had been ironed out. Roebuck had this unusual manner of communicating his message where he would hold you by the neck and speak just a matter of inches from your face, to ensure that his carefully chosen words has no chance of missing the mark.
There was no chance with Cowan. Cricket and batting was his life. There is another set of nets in Rose Bay near Cranbrook where you could drive by at any hour on a Sunday from sunrise to sundown, and little Eddie would be smashing balls thrown by his father or Roebuck.
His selection is a good thing for Australian cricket. He continues the tradition of stodgy left handed opening batsman that the likes of Lawry and Taylor have passed down. The opener is the most specialised of all positions in the order because its purpose is two-fold.
Of course, the primary objective is to score runs but just as important is survival against the new ball. An opening partnership that included any combination of Watson, Warner and Hughes – lacked a traditional defensively minded opener. As we have seen this summer when there is a bit of life in the pitch surviving to lunch on the first morning can be tough.
Cowan fills the void left by another stubborn left-hander: Simon Katich. For me the top of our order looks more balanced with a Katich/Cowan style of batsman in there especially when the run rate will be healthy no matter what, with Warner at the other end.
Cowan declined to keep the baggy green that he got when he was called out of the crowd and on to the field in Sydney (due to an injury) many summers ago. The young man with a strong work ethic – thought he had not earned it.
There can be no doubt that after a long apprenticeship in state cricket he has earned the one that will be presented to him on Monday.
The only regret will be that his friend and mentor will not be there to see it.
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