Former Australian cricketer Bob Cowper has died at the age of 84. Cowper was the first batter to score a triple-century against England in Australia. The Victorian represented Australia from 1964-68, representing his nation in 27 Test matches. The southpaw scored 2061 runs in his career, which includes the triple-ton, which lasted for about 12 hours at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1966.
Cowper remained the only Australian to score a triple hundred on home soil until Mathew Hayden’s 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Bob Cowper, who was a hugely respected figure in Australian cricket,” Cricket Australia chair, Mike Baird, said. “Bob was a wonderful batter who will always be remembered for his famous triple-century at the MCG, as well as his strong influence in the Australian and Victorian teams of the 1960s.
“He was also a significant contributor to cricket in other roles, including as an ICC match referee, and his wisdom was always keenly sought,” Baird added. “On behalf of Cricket Australia, our deepest condolences to Bob’s family, friends and former teammates at this very sad time.”
Cowper retired from cricket at the age of 28 and pursued a career in finance. He became a Monaco-based multimillionaire working in stockbroking and banking. “Too intelligent and ambitious to linger long in a game offering such modest financial rewards,” said renowned Australian journalist Gideon Haigh, speaking to ESPNcricinfo. “His fertile cricket imagination and sense of injustice at the lot of the average Australian cricketer left a strong impression on Ian Chappell, in time a militant campaigner for the rights of his comrades,” he added.
“I’m proud of what I achieved. It was totally different in those days . . . everyone had another career running alongside cricket. It would have been a great honour to be there but, as you can imagine, it’s a little far to go.’’ Cowper told Fairfax Media in 2003.
