Ed Cowan, born June 16, 1982, is an Australian opening batsman. Shiamak Unwalla lists out eight interesting facts about the man who has played only 18 Tests, but could yet make a comeback.
1. Nicknames galore
Cowan is sometimes known as “Teddy,” and other times by the name “Spicy,” though he has denied that he is ever called “Fred.”
2. The surprise fielder
Though Cowan made his debut in 2011, he actually appeared in Australian colours as far back as the early 2000s. Cowan was in the SCG member’s bar when he was called up as a substitute fielder, thereby pre-empting his international debut by a decade or so!
3. The memorable maiden ton
Anyone’s maiden Test ton is a special occasion. For Cowan it was even more so because his daughter Romy and his mother were in the audience.
4. The author
Cowan wrote a semi-autobiographical diary on his Australian domestic season in 2011 titledIn The Firing Line, which was appreciated by former cricketers and critics alike. He also regularly writes columns for Wisden. Cowan revealed that Ed Smith’s similar semi-autobiographical diary On and Off the Field was the inspiration behind his book.
5. The coffee man
Along with his former teammate from Tasmania, Steve Cazzulino, Cowan got into the business of selling sustainable coffee capsules. Their business is called Tripod Coffee.
6. A man with a sense of humour
Cowan is known for his wry sense of humour. This comes through in his book and also in his interactions with the media and fellow players.
The following is a passage from In The Firing Line: “Intensity at training was lifted significantly, purely through the presence of Ricky Ponting, who will be playing the next two Sheffield Shield games with us. It can be an awkward introduction when one of the big boys enters the change room. You throw out a hand and say hi, but how do you respond to “Hi, I am Ricky?” You know full well who it is, you are a little excited by the whole moment, and you don’t know how much you should draw out the conversation. ‘Is that Ricky with a y or ie?'”
7. The scatterbrain
In an interview with Cricinfo, Cowan revealed that he was a messy person by nature, and frequently lost possessions like his keys, wallet, and phone.
8. Family first
In 2015, Cowan decided that despite his recent good form, he would leave Tasmania and return to Sydney. Given the strength of the New South Wales team, it was plausible that Cowan would not get to play for them.
He took the decision in order to spend more time with his family, who were shifting back to Sydney. “It is time to be a family man who plays cricket rather than a cricketer with a family. That is a very hard decision to make when cricket has been your number one priority for 15 years,” Cowan told Sydney Morning Herald.
(Shiamak Unwalla is a proud Whovian and all-round geek who also dabbles in cricket writing as a reporter with CricketCountry. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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