Bob Cowper, who has died aged 84, achieved fame by scoring the first triple Test century in Australia. His role in the development of the Kia Oval was less well known. Richard Spiller explains
Surrey were facing one of the biggest crises in their history in the final stages of the 1980s.
The club were faced with having to demolish the west wing of the pavilion. Much loved, despite being rather scruffy, it had to come down because it was largely wooden.
And wooden stands were no longer regarded as safe as after the Bradford Fire Disaster in 1985 – the anniversary of which was commemorated recently – which killed 56 people. It could so easily have happened at The Oval, where stewards had buckets of sand to assist when members discarded cigarette ends.
The “no hot ashes” stickers on view might have brought a few jokes as Australia crumbed to defeat in the final Test but those buckets of sand had been employed on several occasions and the intent was serious.
Money to rebuild a corner of the ground, which incorporated the Nets Stand, was in short supply but there was no alternative. If nothing was done, The Oval would lose its safety certificate to stage major matches. No more internationals and Surrey’s finances would be in dire peril.
The Save The Oval appeal was launched, headed by Sir Michael (later Lord) Sandberg, who had just retired as chairman of the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank. Sir Len Hutton, scorer of the (then) world record highest Test innings of 364 – against Australia at The Oval in 1938 – happily lent his help to raise the profile of the appeal.
But with a large grant falling through, the fund was still around £1million short.
Bernie Coleman had done much to save both Surrey and English cricket from impoverishment after joining the club’s committee in 1967, going on to lend his expertise to the Test & County Cricket Board.
A leading publican, whose stable included The Castle in Tooting and Dog & Fox in Wimbledon Village, his extensive contacts were invaluable.
Coleman spent many of his winters in Sydney, often playing golf with former New South Wales players he had met when watching Ashes tours of Australia, like Richie Benaud. He was close friends with many of them.
Among them was Cowper, who after retirement from the game had founded a highly successful business career. One of his roles was representing Australian brewers Carlton United in the UK.
Cowper was happy to help, setting up a meeting with company chief John Elliott and the £1million hole was plugged in a deal which saw the ground renamed The Foster’s Oval and would eventually be worth £5million overall to the club.
Attaching the Foster’s name took some doing but Coleman – who died in 2021 – recalled: “We had a bit of opposition to it within the general committee. But Lord’s was founded by Thomas Lord, who was a bit of a wheeler-dealer, so there was a precedent.”
Without the work of Coleman, Cowper and company, there might not be a ground to enjoy any more. When The Queen visited the ground in 1991 to officially open the Ken Barrington Centre and Bedser Stand complex, she was escorted by club president Coleman.
Cowper had retired from cricket at 28, after playing 27 Tests over four years from 1964-68. He needed to earn a living and doing so as a Test cricketer for Australia in that era was difficult. He hit five centuries, the highlight 307 against England at Melbourne in 1965-66.
He had been left out after making a cautious 60 over more than four hours in the third match of the series at Sydney, which England won by an innings and 63 runs, the hosts levelling the series emphatically at Adelaide.
Recalled for the final match, Cowper’s remarkable innings started on the second evening, which was followed by the rest day, lasted throughout the third – ending it 159no – and over a fourth which was rained off to end on the final day of a drawn match.
Stockbroking, merchant banking and representing Australia at ICC meetings kept him busy after retirement from the game.
Accompanied by wife Dale, Cowper he visited the Kia Oval in 2022 for a lunch to celebrate the life of his old friend Coleman, whose work for the club was commemorated by a chair in the committee room.
