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Colin Cowdrey

Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 1932 – 4 December 2000) was an English cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1976, and in 114 Test matches for England from 1954 to 1975. He was born in Ootacamund, Madras Presidency, British India and died in Littlehampton, West Sussex.

Cowdrey was a right-handed batsman who played in 692 first-class matches. He scored 42,719 career runs at an average of 42.89 runs per completed innings with a highest score of 307 as one of 107 centuries. He was an occasional right-arm leg spin bowler, taking 65 first-class wickets with a best innings return of 4/22. An outstanding slip fielder, he held 638 career catches. Cowdrey was the first player to make 100 appearances in Test cricket and also the first batsman to score a Test century, both home and away, against six other countries.

Early life and school years
Colin Cowdrey was born on his family's tea plantation at Ootacamund, Madras Presidency, although his birthplace has often been misrecorded as Bangalore, 100 miles to the north. His father, Ernest Cowdrey, was a keen cricketer who had played in the Minor Counties Championship for Berkshire. Ernest made an application for Colin to join Marylebone Cricket Club while still an infant. Colin's mother was Molly Cowdrey (née Taylor), who played tennis and hockey. He had no schooling in India, but his father and the servants taught him how to play cricket from a very early age.

When Cowdrey was five, he was taken to England where he attended the Homefield Preparatory School in Sutton from 1938 to 1945. In 1945, aged 12, he went to Alf Gover's Cricket School for three weeks and his father enrolled him at Tonbridge School so that he could qualify for Kent County Cricket Club. On Gover's recommendation, Cowdrey was selected for the school's first team. In July 1946, aged thirteen, Cowdrey played at Lord's for Tonbridge School against Clifton College. He scored 75 and 44 and, bowling leg spin, took 3/58 and 5/33. Tonbridge won the match by two runs. The school later established the Cowdrey Scholarships for sporting excellence in his memory.

Cowdrey was asked to play for Kent Young Amateurs in 1948 and made 157 against Sussex Young Amateurs, 87 against Middlesex Young Amateurs and 79 against Surrey Young Amateurs. He was asked to join the Kent Second XI in 1949 and played three matches in August against Norfolk, Wiltshire and Devon in the Minor Counties Championship. In 1950, he was made captain of his school cricket team and scored 126* for the Public Schools XI against Combined Services at Lord's. Less than a week later, Kent selected Cowdrey for his first-class debut in a County Championship match against Derbyshire at the County Ground in Derby. He held a catch and took a wicket in Derbyshire's first innings of 345/6 declared. He was fifth in the Kent batting order and scored 15 in his debut innings before he was caught by Derbyshire captain Pat Vaulkhard off a ball by Cliff Gladwin. Kent were all out for 96 and Vaulkhard imposed the follow on. Cowdrey made Kent's top score of 26 in the second innings. He was bowled by Gladwin whose match return was 10/86. Kent were all out for 151 and Derbyshire won by an innings and 98 runs.

1951 to 1954
Cowdrey left Tonbridge School in the summer of 1951 and, having been offered an exhibition, became a student at the University of Oxford. He was there till the summer of 1954 and studied geography at Brasenose College. He joined the Oxford University Cricket Club and, in each season from 1952 to 1954, played for them in the early weeks and then for Kent till the end of the season. He captained the Oxford team in 1954.

Before going into residence at Oxford in the autumn of 1951, Cowdrey scored his maiden first-class century against them for the Free Foresters. This match was played at the University Parks 2–5 June and Cowdrey scored 143 at a run a minute in the first innings. Free Foresters totalled 317 all out but the university replied with 395/5 declared. In their second innings, Free Foresters scored 355 all out. Errol Holmes was the top scorer with 162 and Cowdrey contributed 39. Oxford needed 278 and won by 8 wickets. Cowdrey made his debut in the Gentlemen v Players series soon afterwards, playing for the Gentlemen. In his first match for them at North Marine Road, Scarborough, he scored 106. The match ended in a draw. In all matches, Cowdrey scored 1,189 runs in the 1951 season and was awarded his Kent county cap. He received the cap from team captain David Clark after an innings of 71 against the touring South Africans. At the age of eighteen, he was the youngest player to be capped by Kent.

First international tour
Cowdrey was a surprise choice for the England tour of Australia in 1954–55. He was called in to replace the injured Willie Watson. According to Cowdrey, England captain Len Hutton later told him that his selection was a gamble, but it was thought that his technique would be good on the hard Australian wickets. Frank Tyson recalled Hutton telling Cowdrey and himself that they would be secondary players on the tour, there to gain experience with probably no involvement in the Test series.

On the team's arrival in Perth, Cowdrey received a telegram that his father had died, but the team rallied round him and he played in the opening match against a local Western Australian Country XI. He scored 48* and took 4/35 with his leg breaks. The party moved on to Sydney where Cowdrey was selected to play against New South Wales. This became a key match in his career as he scored a century in each innings and thereby earned his place in the England team for the first Test, even though he failed in the next match against Queensland.

The first Test, Cowdrey's international debut, was played at the Brisbane Cricket Ground and Australia scored 601/8 declared after Hutton had won the toss and sent them in. England's batting collapsed in the first innings, though Cowdrey made 40, and they had to follow on. Cowdrey scored 10 in the second innings and England, with totals of 190 and 257 were unable to avoid a heavy defeat by an innings and 154 runs. After that, England staged a recovery and won the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground by 38 runs, having been 74 behind on first innings. In the second innings, Cowdrey (54) shared a fourth wicket partnership of 116 with Peter May (104) which enabled England to reach 296 and left Australia needing 223 to win. Frank Tyson and Brian Statham bowled them out for 184 to level the series.

In the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, England were in trouble at 41/4 and were rescued by Cowdrey's maiden Test century. He scored 102 out of 191 after sharing partnerships of 74 with Trevor Bailey and 54 with Godfrey Evans. Some writers have said this was the highlight of Cowdrey's career as it laid a foundation for eventual victory by 128 runs after Tyson, with a return of 7/27, shattered Australia's batting in their second innings. Among those who praised Cowdrey's performance were Bill O'Reilly, who said it was the best Test innings he had ever seen and, Tyson who doubted if Cowdrey had "ever scored a better hundred". Cowdrey made 102 of England's first innings of 191 and once again this was enough for Tyson to bowl his team to victory as the tourists took a 2–1 lead in the series.

Australia opened the fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval with a total of 323. In reply, England scored 341 including 79 by Cowdrey. Australia could only manage 111 in their second innings. Cowdrey was injured when the ball hit him in the face while he was fielding. He batted in the second innings and was out for 4 but the injury worsened and he was hospitalised for several days. England scored 97/5 to win the match by 5 wickets. The final Test at Sydney was drawn and so England won the series 3–1 to retain The Ashes.

1955 to 1958
On his return from Australia, Cowdrey decided to drop out of Oxford and concentrate on his cricket career. As he was no longer an undergraduate, he was called up for national service in the Royal Air Force. However, he was almost immediately discharged because of a hereditary disability of rigid toes, on which he had previously had an operation. Cowdrey cemented his place in the England team and took part in each of the home series during this period. He also went to South Africa in 1956–57. In 1957, during the Test series against West Indies, Cowdrey and May shared a fourth wicket partnership of 411 at Edgbaston. Cowdrey scored 154 and May 285*. At the time, it was the third highest stand in Test cricket.

Before the 1957 season, Cowdrey was appointed captain of the Kent team, succeeding Doug Wright. Kent finished 14th in the County Championship, winning six of their 28 matches. Playfair Cricket Annual commented that Cowdrey had "infused the right spirit" into the team but pointed out that Kent cricket was still well short of resurgence. Cowdrey only played in 18 matches because of international calls and, without him, the team's batting was weak.

1958–59 to 1962
Cowdrey replaced Trevor Bailey as Peter May's vice-captain for the 1958–59 tour of Australia. The Test series was a disaster for England, who lost 4–0. Cowdrey had one notable innings when he scored 100* in the Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and helped England to save that match as a draw. In 1959, Cowdrey had a successful series against India and scored 160 in the third Test at Headingley. Cowdrey captained England for the first time on their tour of the West Indies in 1959–60 after May was seriously injured. He took over from May for the last two matches of the series. Both were drawn and England, who had won the second Test, took the series 1–0.

With May out of action for the whole of 1960, Cowdrey captained England in the series against South Africa and won it 3–0. South Africa nearly won the last Test at The Oval after dismissing England for 155 and then scoring 479/9 declared. Cowdrey opened the England second innings with Geoff Pullar and they shared a first wicket stand of 290 which saved the match. Cowdrey scored 155 and Pullar 175.

May returned in 1961 and was expected to take back his captaincy, but declared himself unfit. Cowdrey was hurriedly brought to Lords and was told he would take over only a few days before the First Test. Although Richie Benaud had beaten England 4–0 in the last Ashes series the 1961 Australians were considered to be the weakest sent to England with Benaud and Alan Davidson struggling with injuries and many players unused to English conditions. They nearly upset England in the First Test at Edgbaston, leading by 321 runs in the first innings and Ted Dexter had to save the game with an innings of 180. Before the Second Test at Lords Cowdrey made 149 and 121 for Kent against the tourists and was 7 runs from victory when the game ended. May returned to the England team, but insisted that Cowdrey be captain despite pressure from the selectors. Benaud was unable to play, but the Australians under Neil Harvey rose to the occasion, Davidson taking 5/42 in the first innings, Bill Lawry making his maiden Test century of 130 and Garth McKenzie taking 5/37 to clear up the second innings in their 5 wicket victory. May agreed to lead England in the Third Test at Headingley and Cowdrey made 93 and 22 in a low scoring match as Fred Trueman took 11/93 to even the series. Cowdrey missed the Fourth Test at Old Trafford with a fever, where Australia won a nail-biting match to retain the Ashes. May thought England would have won if Cowdrey had played, even if he wasn't fit, but he returned for the drawn Fifth Test at the Oval.

The Ashes series had been a disappointment and Cowdrey decided to miss the tough tour of India and Pakistan, which was led by Ted Dexter. He lost to India 2–0, but beat Pakistan 1–0 and made 712 Test runs (71.20) on the tour, including his highest Test score of 205. May returned to play for Surrey, but refused to play for England and retired from cricket after a few games in 1963. When Pakistan toured England in 1962 Dexter was made captain for the First Test, winning by an innings and 24 runs (Cowdrey making 159) and the Second Test, which was won by 9 wickets. Cowdrey replaced him in the Third Test as the selectors considered their options for the forthcoming tour of Australia and he won by an innings and 117 runs. When Cowdrey was made captain in the final Gentleman v Players match at Lord's it looked like he would be chosen, but he was forced to withdraw because of kidney stones and Dexter was put in charge. However, he found a new rival in the old Sussex captain the Reverend David Sheppard, who was willing to take a sabbatical from his church mission in the East End in order to tour Australia. Sheppard made 112 for the Gentlemen and was chosen for the tour, but Dexter was confirmed as captain for the last two Tests against Pakistan and the forthcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand with Cowdrey as vice-captain. Cowdrey recovered to open the batting in the Fifth Test and make his highest Test score of 182, adding 238 with Dexter (172) and ending the series with 409 runs (81.80).

1962–63 to 1967
The tour manager Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk joined the team with three of his daughters and announced "You may dance with my daughters. You may take them out and wine them and dine them, but that is all you may do", though years later Cowdrey would marry the eldest, Lady Anne. Cowdrey had a poor start to the tour and made three successive ducks, which Jack Fingleton blamed on his fondness for golf. However, Cowdrey made the highest score of his career against South Australia on Christmas Eve (his birthday). He caressed his way to 307 in 369 minutes, beating Frank Woolley's 305 not out against Tasmania in 1911–12 as the highest score by a tourist in Australia; it was the highest first-class score in Australia for 18 years. Cowdrey added 103 runs with David Sheppard (81), 98 with Ken Barrington, then stroked 344 runs with fellow stylist Tom Graveney (122 not out), striking 4 sixes and 29 fours, until he was out and Dexter declared on 586/5. Fresh from his triumph at Adelaide Cowdrey made his only century of the series in the Second Test at Melbourne after joining Dexter at 19/2. They withstood Alan Davidson's burst of speed, but the other bowlers failed to trouble them and by stealing quick ones, twos and threes they rebuilt the innings. Dexter was out for 93, but the stand had made 175 runs and Cowdrey made 113, his third and highest century in Australia, but the celebrations were short lived as he hooked into the hands of Peter Burge off Garth McKenzie. In the second innings he took 30 minutes to score after being dropped off his first ball, but made 52 not out and hit the winning runs to give England a 1–0 lead.

Despite Cowdrey's first innings of 85, Australia won the Third Test to level the series and keep the Ashes, as the final two Tests were drawn. He finished third in the averages with 397 runs (43.77). The tour continued in New Zealand where Cowdrey made 292 runs (146.00) in the three Tests, which England won 3–0. Cowdrey made 86 in the First at Auckland, 128 not out in the Second at Wellington and 43 and 35 not out in the Third at Christchurch. The 128 not out at Wellington made him the first batsman to make a century against six countries, having already made hundreds against Australia, South Africa, the West Indies, India and Pakistan. He made an unbeaten stand of 163 with the wicket-keeper Alan Smith (69 not out) which was a Test record for the 9th wicket until beaten by Asif Iqbal and Intikhab Alam, who made 190 for the 9th wicket against England at the Oval in 1967.

In 1963 Frank Worrell led an exciting West Indies team on their tour of England. They won the First Test at Old Trafford by an innings, with Cowdrey being bowled round his legs by Hall for 4 after swaying away from a delivery which kept lower than he expected. The Second Test at Lord's was one of the best he played in. Fred Trueman took 6/100 and Cowdrey three catches to dismiss the tourists for 301 and the captain Ted Dexter thrashed Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith round the ground for 70 off 75 balls in England's reply of 297. Dexter couldn't field due to an injury taken when batting so Cowdrey led the team and took 3 more catches as Trueman took 5/52 and the West Indies' 229 relied almost entirely on Basil Butcher's 133. Needing 234 to win England were reduced to 31/3, but had recovered to 72/3 when Cowdrey fended a bouncer from Hall off his face and broke his wrist, retiring hurt on 19. Ken Barrington (60) and Brian Close (70) took England to the verge of victory and when Derek Shackleton was run out in the last over they were 228/9, needing five runs to tie, six runs to win, one wicket to lose or to survive two balls for a draw. Cowdrey returned to the crease with his arm in plaster and stood at the non-striker's end while Dave Allen blocked the last two balls for a draw. England won the Third Test, but lost the series 3–1 and Cowdrey was unable to play for the rest of the season.

England was to tour India and Pakistan again and Cowdrey was asked to captain the tour, but declined as his arm had not fully healed. Ted Dexter also took a rest and M.J.K. Smith led the team, which soon ran into difficulties as illness and injury reduced them to ten men and they considered calling up the broadcaster Henry Blofeld. Cowdrey was contacted by Lord's to recommend a replacement batsman and as the batsmen he would have suggested were contracted to play in South Africa he volunteered to join the team himself. On arrival he was immediately chosen for the Third Test without any match practice (this happened again in Australia in 1974–75), but took three catches and made 107 and 13 not out for a draw. He made 151 in the Fourth Test and 38 in the Fifth to end with 309 runs (103.00) and England survived the series 0–0, the first full Test series which England drew all their matches, but the third time India had managed this.

Dexter was back in charge in the rain-soaked 1964 Ashes series. Cowdrey played in the First and Second Tests, making 32, 33 and 10, but was injured and England lost the Third Test and with it the series 1–0. Cowdrey returned for the Fifth Test to make 20 and 93 not out, finishing with 188 runs (47.00). More importantly he took the catches for Fred Trueman's 299th and 300th Test wickets. In the County Championship Cowdrey's captaincy and his long-term plans with Les Ames were starting to pay off as Kent moved up to 7th place.

Dexter declared himself unavailable for the 1964–65 tour of South Africa as he contested the Cardiff South East seat in the 1964 General Election. Cowdrey did not tour, though he did go to the West Indies with the International Cavaliers, and Mike Smith was made captain, though Dexter joined him as vice-captain after losing to Jim Callaghan. After his 1–0 victory in South Africa Smith was retained as captain and as Dexter broke his leg while parking his car Cowdrey was made vice-captain again. He made 85 in the First Test against New Zealand, 119 in the Second and 13 in the Third as England easily won the series 3–0. South Africa were a tougher prospect with Graeme Pollock making 125 in the Second Test at Trent Bridge and his brother Peter Pollock taking 10/87, Cowdrey came in at 63/3 and made 105 of the 142 runs added while he was at the crease, but it was the only time England lost a Test in which he made a century. He made 58 and 78 not out in the Third Test and 327 runs (65.40), but South Africa won 1–0, their last Test series against England for 29 years. Cowdrey took Kent up to 5th place in the County Championship, compared with 7th in the previous season.

Though Cowdrey still had his supporters at Lords Smith was kept as captain for the 1965–66 Ashes series with Cowdrey as vice-captain, but they knew each other as schoolboys and Oxford undergraduates and got on well. Cowdrey was ill for most of December and missed the First Test. He made 104 in the Second Test at Melbourne, where England made 558, their biggest total down under since 636 in the Second Test in 1928–29. He did little on the tour except to make 63 and 108 against the weak Tasmanian attack and the series was drawn 1–1 with the batsmen on both sides scoring heavily. Cowdrey himself made 267 runs (53.40), his best batting average in an Ashes series. Carrying on to New Zealand Cowdrey made a duck in the First Test, but recovered with 89 not out in the Second and 58 in the Third which made him the fifth player after Wally Hammond, Don Bradman, Len Hutton and Neil Harvey to make 6,000 Test runs, but the rain affected series was drawn 0–0.

Mike Smith was kept as captain for only the First Test of the 1966 series against a West Indian side held together by the superb all round skills of their captain Gary Sobers. Sobers won the toss at Old Trafford, batted first and caught England on a spinning wicket for an innings victory, Cowdrey making 69 in the debacle. Smith was dismissed as captain and dropped from the side due to his well-known weakness to the West Indian fast bowlers. Cowdrey was placed in charge, which he accepted reluctantly due to the shoddy treatment of his friend and predecessor. In the Second Test at Lords England were 86 runs ahead in the first innings with the West Indies 95/5 when Sobers and his cousin David Holford added 274 to save the game. Cowdrey was criticised for not surrounding Sobers with fielders at the beginning of his innings, but he maintained that by spreading the field he encouraged him to make the strokes which could have got him out, but there was little doubt that the plan failed.

In the Third Test at Trent Bridge Cowdrey came in at 13/3 and made 96, adding 169 with Tom Graveney (109) to give England a 90 run lead, but Basil Butcher made 209 not out in the West Indian second innings and they won by 139 runs. The Fourth Test at Headingley saw the tourists rattle up 500, enforce the follow on and win by an innings and 55 runs. Like Smith Cowdrey was removed from the captaincy and dropped from the team, to be replaced by the hard-headed Yorkshire captain Brian Close. In an amazing Fifth Test at the Oval the West Indies made 268 and had England 166/7, but the last three wickets added 363 runs and England won by an innings. In the County Championship Cowdrey's Kent moved up for the third year in a row to 4th place.

There was no tour in 1966–67 and Cowdrey was not picked for the first four Tests of the summer, instead concentrating on Kent's chances in the County Championship. He was recalled for the Second Test against Pakistan, opening the innings, and made 14 and 2 not out in the 10 wicket victory. The Third Test at the Oval was won as well, but Close had been found guilty of time-wasting in a county match and accosting a spectator who complained of gamesmanship. He was fired as soon as the Test was won and the selectors announced that Cowdrey was to lead the MCC tour of the West Indies, although he disliked the politics and press attention. On a happier note Kent came second in the County Championship to Yorkshire and won their first one-day competition, the Gillette Cup final against Somerset in front of 20,000 fans at Lord's. Cowdrey won the toss and batted first, Kent making 193 with man of the match Mike Denness scoring 50 and Brian Luckhurst 54. Somerset were bowled out for 161 with Derek Underwood taking 3/41 for a 32 run victory.

1967–68 to 1971
The tour got off to a bad start when they were outscored in the warm up match against the Barbados Colts, but Cowdrey made 139 against the West Indies Board President's XI, adding 249 with Geoff Boycott (135). They batted poorly against Trinidad and Tobago and Colin Milburn made 139 against the Trinidad Colts, but the fast bowler John Snow was ill and went into the First Test at the Port of Spain as underdogs. It was Cowdrey's 92nd Test, taking him past Godfrey Evans's record of 91 Test caps. He won the toss and made 72 batting at number three, followed by Ken Barrington (143) and vice-captain Tom Graveney (118) to be all out for 568. The West Indies were made to follow on after making 363, but drew the match with 243/8 in the second innings.

Cowdrey made 107 when the MCC beat Jamaica by 174 runs and they went into the Second Test at Kingston with more confidence. He won the toss again and made 101 in England's 376 and forced the West Indies to follow on again when Snow's 7/49 dismissed them for 143. The West Indies were 204/5 on the day four and when Basil Butcher was caught behind off Basil D'Oliveira the crowd rioted and threw bottles onto the outfield. Cowdrey tried to calm the crowd without success and play was abandoned as the police used tear gas to restore order. Cowdrey and the manager Les Ames reluctantly agreed to resume play to help placate the crowd and an extra 75 minutes was added on the sixth day to make up for lost time. Sobers thought it wouldn't be needed as they had battled so badly, but the riot had unsettled the England team. The West Indian captain made 113 not out and was able to declare at 391/9, leaving England 190 to win on the extra day. Boycott and Cowdrey made ducks and English crashed to 43/4 at the end of day five and barely survived with 68/8 after the extra time on day six. Sobers took 3/33 and Lance Gibbs 3/11, which would have grave repercussions in the Fourth Test.

Cowdrey took the next two matches off (which were drawn), but was with Fred Titmus when the off-spinner had four toes cut off by a boat propeller while swimming and drove him to the hospital for surgery, which enabled him to return to cricket after the tour. The Third Test at Bridgetown was a dull draw, with Sobers winning the toss and the West Indies making 349, followed by 449 from England with Boycott (146) and John Edrich (90) adding 172 for the 1st wicket. They returned to Port of Spain for the Fourth Test, Sobers won the toss again and his team made 526/7. England replied with 404, Cowdrey top-scoring with 148 and hitting 21 boundaries. The game looked doomed to another draw when Sobers suddenly declared at 92/2 on the fifth day, leaving England 215 runs to win in 165 minutes. Sobers disliked the thought of playing out five draws in a series and remembered the sudden English collapse in the Third Test which might give him a surprise victory. Though he needed Tom Graveney and Ken Barrington to overcome his natural inclination to safety they set about the runs with Boycott holding up one end with 80 not out and adding 118 in 75 minutes with Cowdrey (71) for a 7 wicket victory with three minutes to spare. Sobers was lambasted throughout the West Indies for his declaration and Cowdrey found him drinking alone in a bar that evening when he was usually surrounded by fans.

The MCC beat Guyana and England went into the Fifth Test at Bourda with a 1–0 lead. Sobers won the toss again and revived his reputation with an innings of 150, adding 250 with Rohan Kanhai (152) as the West Indies made 414. England made 371 with Boycott (116) and Cowdrey (59) adding 172, then England collapsed to 269/8 before Tony Lock (brought over from Western Australia to replace Titmus) struck 89. Sobers made 95 not out in the West Indies second innings of 264, and England needed 308 to win on the last day. They fell to 41/5, but the four-hour Kent partnership of 127 between Cowdrey (82) and Alan Knott (73 not out) saved the day and England drew the match with a nail-biting 206/9. The win assumed greater proportions over the following years as it would be 32 years before England won another series against the West Indies. Cowdrey finished with 534 runs (66.75), his most prolific Test series and the only one in which he exceeded 500 runs.

Australia had held the Ashes since 1958–59 and Cowdrey was keen to return them to England, but he was frustrated by the damp summer. There was no excuse for the First Test at Old Trafford where Australia made 357 and England fell from 86/0 to 165 all out to the part-time off-spin of Bob Cowper (4/48) and lost by 159 runs, though Basil D'Oliveira made 87 not out in the second innings. The Second Test was the 200th between the two countries and Colin Milburn hammered 83 and Cowdrey 45 in England's 351/7 while Australia were hustled out for 78 after a freak hail storm whitened the ground. 15 hours were lost to the weather and after following on Australia salvaged a draw with 127/4.

The Third Test at Edgbaston was Cowdrey's 100th, the first time that anyone had completed a century of Tests. He celebrated by making 104, using Boycott as a runner after straining his leg. He became the second batsman after Wally Hammond to make 7,000 Test runs, but England took 172.5 overs to make 409 and though Australia only made 222 the match was drawn. Both Cowdrey and the Australian captain Bill Lawry were unfit for the Fourth Test, which was drawn when England finished on 230/4 needing 326. Australia's 1–0 lead ensured that they held onto the Ashes, but Cowdrey went to the Fifth Test determined to at least even the series. As the ball was swinging at the Oval that season he wanted the bowlers Tom Cartwright and Barry Knight, but they were both unfit and the opener Roger Prideaux caught a virus of the eve of the Test. D'Oliveira was an all-rounder who could swing the ball so Cowdrey asked for him to cover both needs and he made a politically important 158 in England's 494. Australia made 325 and dismissed England for 181, but collapsed to 85/5 at lunch on the last day needing 352 to win when a deluge flooded the Oval. The players started packing their bags, but Cowdrey called on the crowd to help the groundstaff dry the ground. "Like a modern-day King Canute he rolled up his trousers, waded into the water...and supervised the mopping up operations of hundreds of volunteers", Derek Underwood took 7/50 and England won by 226 runs with six minutes to spare. Kent came second to Yorkshire again in the County Championship, winning more matches, but falling behind on bonus points.

Basil D'Oliveira was a Cape Coloured who emigrated to England so he could play first-class cricket, from which he was banned in South Africa. When he was not included in the MCC team for South Africa after his match-winning century there was a press storm in what was known as the D'Oliveira affair. It appeared that he was omitted as he was unacceptable to the South African government, then at the height of apartheid. Cowdrey and the selectors maintained that he had not been chosen for purely cricketing reasons, but when Cartwright was declared unfit they brought in D'Oliveira, who was the first reserve. To President Vorster of South Africa it looked like the MCC was caving in to anti-apartheid pressure and he cancelled the tour. Cowdrey offered to fly to South Africa to mediate, but it was 26 years before England next played South Africa.

With the South African tour cancelled a new one was arranged to Ceylon and Pakistan, which was in political turmoil that resulted in the fall of President Ayub Khan and imposition of martial law by his successor General Yahya Khan. After a few easy-going matches in Ceylon the tour match against the West Pakistan Governor's XI saw play abandoned after 25 overs, there were no other tour matches and all the Tests were affected by political demonstrations against the military regime. In the First Test at Lahore Cowdrey won the toss and made exactly 100, his 22nd Test century to match Wally Hammond's England record. England made 309, dismissed Pakistan for 209 and Cowdrey declared the second innings at 225/9 to give them 326 to win, but Pakistan made 203/5 for a draw. Saeed Ahmed won the toss in the Second Test at Dacca in East Pakistan, soon to be Bangladesh, where there was rioting and gunfire around the team hotel. Pakistan made 246, which was matched by England's 274, thanks to D'Oliveira's 114 not out. Pakistan took 101 overs to make 196/5 and a token declaration left England to make 33/0. Cowdrey won the toss again in the Third Test at Karachi, but there were riots on the first two days by fans who wanted Hanif Mohammad as captain instead of Saeed. England piled up 502/7, with Colin Milburn making 139 and Tom Graveney 105, but the match was abandoned after demonstrators wrecked the stadium on the morning of the third day, leaving Alan Knott stranded on 96 not out. Cowdrey was not there to see it as he left on the second day after his father-in-law died, leaving Graveney in charge. The team followed on the third day, with manager Les Ames abandoning the Test and the rest of the tour to save the team.

Cowdrey broke the Achilles tendon in his left heel three weeks into the 1969 season and he could not play until the last match in September. The veteran Yorkshire professional Ray Illingworth was his surprise replacement after only a month as captain of Leicestershire. He was chosen over his rivals Brian Close and Tom Graveney as he was not seen as a threat to Cowdrey's long-term captaincy due to his age and inability to establish a regular spot in the Test team. However, Illingworth made his maiden Test century in his second Test in charge, beat the West Indies and New Zealand 2–0 each and remained captain even when Cowdrey recovered. Kent suffered from his absence and fell to 10th in the County Championship, but Cowdrey was able to get some match practice in by touring the West Indies with the International Cavaliers and the Duke of Norfolk's XI.

The South African tour was cancelled and as the cricketers needed practice against a top team before going to Australia, and to fill MCC coffers, a Rest of the World XI under Gary Sobers was organised from overseas cricketers playing for English counties. Cowdrey was still easing himself back into cricket when the First 'Test' was played and he was not selected, but played in the other four and made 1 and 64 in the Second, 0 and 71 in the Third, 1 and 0 in the Fourth and 73 and 31 in the Fifth, a total of 241 runs (30.13). England lost the series 4–1, but three of their defeats were close and they were playing the best team in the world. These were counted as Tests at the time, but the ICC subsequently disallowed them. This meant that Cowdrey passed Wally Hammond's record of 7,249 Test runs when he made 71 at Trent Bridge to become the most prolific Test batsmen, and would do it again in Australia.

Cowdrey's return to the England team fueled speculation that he was to resume the captaincy from Illingworth, but he did not and in the Third 'Test' he was told that his rival would be made captain for the Australian tour. He was willing to accompany him as a player, but had to think about being vice-captain again as he thought a younger man should be chosen. In the end he accepted in order to help his Kent teammate David Clark with the administration.

Cowdrey had other considerations in the summer of 1970, which was Kent County Cricket Club's Centenary. Kent had been 13th in the County Championship in his first year as captain in 1957, but had improved and were runners up in 1967 and 1968. The county has been short of funds throughout the 60s, but agreed to increase resources for extra staff for the 1970 season, which could only be justified by winning the County Championship for the first time since 1913. Apart from their energetic overseas player Asif Iqbal and the Scottish Mike Denness they had home-grown talent in the shape of Alan Knott, Derek Underwood, Bob Woolmer, Brian Luckhurst, and Alan Ealham. At the start of the season Edward Heath, Kent fan and leader of the Conservative Party, gave a speech at their dinner, saying that 1906 had seen Kent win their first County Championship alongside a change of government and they should do so again in 1970.

In early July it appeared that he had jinxed both their chances with Heath behind in the polls in the General Election and Kent at the bottom of the championship table. The change came when Sussex defeated them in the Gillette Cup, giving them two rest days which Cowdrey used to hammer out their difficulties in a team meeting. They decided to chase bonus points and won 7 and drew 5 of their last 12 games, often by close margins and it was a draw at the Oval, where Cowdrey made 112, that gave them the title with the newly elected Prime Minister Heath at the ground to invite them to a reception at 10 Downing Street to celebrate.

Cowdrey was made vice-captain for an Australian tour for the fourth time and Illingworth's tough no-nonsense approach to the game clashed with the MCC tour manager David Clark, who had been captain of Kent in Cowdrey's youth and had given him his county cap. As a result, Illingworth effectively took over the running of the tour with the support of the players and Clark's influence declined, as did that of Cowdrey, who as his only ally he became isolated, though he still had his Kent teammates Derek Underwood, Alan Knott and Brian Luckhurst. The players tended to avoid the press and public, even to the point of having their meals in their hotel rooms, and only Cowdrey made an effort to meet and greet the cricket fans. The rotund Cowdrey was in the sunset of his career and failed on tour, making only one century – 101 against Victoria – which was so slow that he was likened to a beached whale.

In the First Test he overtook Wally Hammond's record of 7,249 runs to become the most prolific Test batsman, a record he held for a year when it was overtaken by Gary Sobers. Cowdrey made only 1 run in the inaugural One Day International at Melbourne and was dropped for the Fourth Test, had his cap stolen while fielding in the Fifth Test and was dropped again for the Sixth and Seventh Tests. Illingworth won an argumentative series 2–0 and regained the Ashes, but Cowdrey only made 82 runs (20.50) in the series. They carried on to New Zealand, and Cowdrey missed the First Test and needed a runner to make 54 and 45 in the Second Test at Auckland, coming in at 63/4 in the second innings when New Zealand had a real chance of winning their first victory against England, but he added 76 with Alan Knott (96), and the danger was averted.

Cowdrey played what he thought was would be his last Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston, making 14 and 34. He was now 38 and a serious bout of pneumonia meant he could not play for half the season, though his 15th year as Kent captain he equalled Lord Harris's record and made him the longest serving post-war captain in county cricket. His vice-captain and successor Mike Denness led Kent for most of the season; they fell to 4th in the County Championship and were the finalists in the Gillette Cup, but Cowdrey was unable to play and they lost to Lancashire by 24 runs.

1972 to 1976
Cowdrey continued to play for Kent under Mike Denness (who succeeded Ray Illingworth as England captain in 1973) and the county continued its success. It came 2nd in the County Championship in 1972, 4th in 1973, but slipped to 10th in 1974, but won the John Player League in 1972 and 1973, the Benson and Hedges Cup in 1973 (Cowdrey hitting a cheeky 25 not out) and the Gillette Cup again in 1974, beating Lancashire by 4 wickets in the final. With his Test career seemingly over he was appointed a CBE by the Prime Minister Ted Heath in 1972. Cowdrey's great milestone was his 100th first-class century, 100 not out against Surrey at Maidstone on 4 July 1974, after which he had a celebratory luncheon at Lords with ex-prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home as the guest speaker.

After the disastrous First Test in Brisbane the tour selectors sent back to London for the 41-year-old Cowdrey as a replacement batsmen. Cowdrey was highly regarded by the MCC team and in particular by Mike Denness, who had succeeded him as captain of Kent. In his 20-year Test career he had faced the Australian fast bowlers Keith Miller, Ray Lindwall, Alan Davidson, Ian Meckiff, Gordon Rorke and even the young Dennis Lillee. Although the Australian press was aghast at such a recall – Cowdrey had not played a Test in four years – the tourists were keen to have a man with the technique and strength of purpose to play the fastest of bowlers. He arrived in Perth with the wives of the MCC team after a 19-hour delay in Bombay, too late to play a practice match, and was called up for the Second Test two days after he arrived and with three hours in the nets. This was his sixth tour of Australia, matching the record of the Lancashire spinner Johnny Briggs.

Cowdrey showed he had lost none of his timing and that his bat was as straight as ever until he was bowled behind his legs by Thomson (2/45) for 22. In the second innings he volunteered to open with David Lloyd instead of the badly bruised Brian Luckhurst. Cowdrey was dropped by Ian Redpath off Lillee, hit on the arm, survived a confident appeal by Rod Marsh before he was finally caught lbw by Thomson for 41, his highest score of the series. After the Second Test Cowdrey made 78 and took 2/27 against South Australia. Before the Third Test at Melbourne Frank Tyson recalled "Colin Cowdrey and John Edrich were unable to practice on Christmas Eve – mainly because of the drizzling rain but also because Cowdrey wanted to spend his birthday in comparative peace. Since both batsmen wanted to feel the ball on bat before the Test, I volunteered the use of the Hawthorn Indoor Cricket Centre, in which I was a partner, for a two-hour work-out on Christmas morning. It was quite a contrast to open the children's presents in the early hours and to open the bowling at the two English batsmen before lunch. My fifteen old son, Philip, thought the latter experience to be quite the best of his Christmas presents". He played his 114th and last Test at Melbourne, and opened the innings again as Lloyd was injured, but only made 7. Even so, England made 529 and won by an innings, with Cowdrey dismissing Rick McCosker for his 120th catch. He was given a warm farewell by his fans in "an impromptu little gathering on the outfield in front of the banner reading 'M.C.G. FANS THANK COLIN – 6 TOURS'. The central figure, wearing a large straw sun-hat, was signing endless autographs, posing for photographs and exchanging friendly talk with young and old in the way that has made him as popular a cricketer as has ever visited Australia".

The South African tour of 1975 was cancelled and instead there was Prudential World Cup with the Australians staying on for a Test series afterwards. Their first first-class match after losing the Cup Final was against Kent and Cowdrey has already announced his retirement at the end of the season. Ian Chappell won the toss and declared on 415/8, Kent were out for 202 and Chappell was able to declare his second innings at 140/3 on the last day to set the hosts 354 to win. He was so confident of a win that he ordered a coach for 4 pm to take the team to Southampton for dinner before their next match against Hampshire, but Cowdrey struck 151 not out, Kent won by 4 wickets and the Australians didn't reach Southampton until midnight. It was first victory by Kent over Australia since 1899. Cowdrey was asked to captain the MCC against the Australians, but was dismissed for a pair by Lillee, though this did not stop speculation that he would replace Mike Denness as England captain. His 107th and last first-class century was 119 not out against Gloucestershire, but he returned next year for one more game against Surrey when Kent were short of players, making 25 and 15 and taking two catches. Kent, incidentally, went on to win the John Player League in 1976 and the County Championship in 1977–78.

International centuries
Cowdrey made 22 Test centuries to equal Wally Hammond's England record. This has subsequently been exceeded by a number of players.

Of the 22 Tests in which Cowdrey made a hundred, England won 10, drew 11 and lost one; the defeat was the 1965 match against South Africa at Trent Bridge, in which Cowdrey scored 105. He was the first batsman to score a Test century against six different nations: Australia, South Africa, the West Indies, New Zealand, India and Pakistan – they were the only Test nations during his career. The table below is a list of Cowdrey's Test centuries:

Style and personality
As a batsman, Cowdrey's favourite stroke was the cover drive, at which he excelled, but he had the full array of stokes all around the wicket. His quick reflexes also made him an outstanding slip fielder. Tom Graveney described him as "a masterly batsman with an excellent technique (who) delighted crowds throughout the world with his style and elegance". However, Cowdrey always feared that his wicket was too important to be thrown away and he was sometimes too cautious when facing certain bowlers. John Arlott noticed this and commented: "Cowdrey could sink into pits of uncertainty when the fire ceased to burn, allowing himself to be dominated by bowlers inferior to him in skill". Cowdrey himself said: "The proudest thing in my career was that I kept surviving".

Cowdrey adopted a mostly cautious approach to captaincy but always listened to his players. He would usually set a field as recommended by the bowler and then stick to it, rather than making frequent changes. His greatest asset was man-management as he genuinely cared about his players. For example, he always thanked each bowler at the end of a spell and each batsman at the end of an innings. Tom Graveney said Cowdrey was the best captain he played under.

Personal life and post-retirement
While still a player, Cowdrey was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1972 New Year Honours for services to cricket. Following his retirement in 1976, he worked closely behind the scenes at Kent and became President of the MCC in 1986. He was Chairman of the International Cricket Council from 1989 to 1993, when referees and neutral umpires were introduced to international cricket. He served on the board at House of Whitbread Frelims and Barclays Bank International and was a member of the Council of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, a Member of the Council of The Cook Society (affiliate of Britain–Australia Society) Having been knighted in the 1992 New Year Honours, Cowdrey became a life peer as Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours List; he is one of only two cricketers to be given a life peerage for their services to the sport, the other being Learie Constantine in 1969. Cowdrey was named President of Kent County Cricket Club in 2000, the year he died.

He was married twice. His first wife was Penny Chiesman from 1956 until their divorce in 1985. They were the parents of Kent cricketers Chris and Graham Cowdrey. Cowdrey's second wife was Lady Anne Fitzalan-Howard, whom he married in 1985. Cowdrey died of a heart attack on 4 December 2000, aged 67. He is the fourth most recent sportsman to be honoured with a memorial service in Westminster Abbey, following Sir Frank Worrell, Lord Constantine and Bobby Moore. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture was inaugurated in his memory.

title: Colin Cowdrey


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Jacques Delors

Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (20 July 1925 – 27 December 2023) was a French politician who served as the eighth president of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. Delors played a key role in the creation of the single market, the euro and the modern European Union.

As president of the European Commission (EC), Delors was the most visible and influential leader in European affairs. He implemented policies that closely linked the member nations together and promoted the need for unity. He created a single market that made the free movement of persons, capital, goods, and services within the European Economic Community (EEC) possible. He also headed the Delors Committee, which proposed the monetary union to create the euro, a new single currency to replace individual national currencies. This was achieved by the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.

Delors was a member of the French Socialist Party. Before becoming president of the EC, he was France's finance minister from 1981 to 1984, and a member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1981.

French politics
Born in Paris in a family originating from Corrèze, Delors first held in the 1940s through the 1960s a series of posts in French banking and state planning with the Bank of France. As a member of the French Confederation of Christian Workers (CFTC), he participated in its secularization and the foundation of the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT). In 1969, he became social affairs adviser to the Gaullist Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas, a move which was presented as part of Chaban's outreach to the centre-ground and first attracted media attention to Delors personally.

In 1957, Delors left the CFDT when he became a high government official to avoid conflicts of interests. In 1974, he joined the Socialist Party, with other left-wing Christians. He was one of the rare members of the party to be openly religious, thus challenging its long-standing secular tradition of laïcité. He served in the European Parliament from 1979 to 1981, becoming chairman of its Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, actively taking part in debates about economic, social, and monetary policies. Under President François Mitterrand, Delors served as Economics and Finance Minister from 1981 to 1983, and Economics, Finance, and Budget Minister from 1983 to 1984. He advocated a pause in the social policies, a clear acceptance of the market economy, and an alignment with European social democracy. Critically, he held the line on France's membership of the European Monetary System (EMS), giving priority to monetary stability over left-wing spending priorities. Mitterrand flirted with the idea of naming him Prime Minister, but never made the appointment.

President of the European Commission
Delors became the President of the European Commission in January 1985. During his presidency, he oversaw important budgetary reforms and laid the groundwork for the introduction of a single market within the European Community. It came into effect on 1 January 1993 and allowed the free movement of persons, capital, goods, and services within the Community.

Delors also headed the Committee for the Study of Economic and Monetary Union, widely known as the Delors Committee, that in early 1989 proposed the creation of a new currency—the euro—to replace individual national currencies. This was achieved in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty.

In opposition to the strident neoliberalism of US president Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) that dominated the American political agenda, Delors promoted an alternative interpretation of capitalism that embedded it in the European social structure. He synthesized three themes. First, from the left came support for the redistribution of wealth and protection of the weakest. Second, a neo-mercantilist approach was designed to maximize European industrial output. And the third was reliance on the marketplace. His emphasis on the social dimension of Europe was and remains central to a strong narrative that became a key element of the self-identification of the European Union.

The Delors presidency is considered to have been the apex of the European Commission's influence on European integration.

Post-presidency
Delors had a longstanding interest in education. As the initiator of a French law in 1971 (la formation professionnelle continue, FPC) requiring firms to set aside part of their profits for educational opportunities for their employees, he also chaired a UNESCO Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century from 1993 to 1996, whose final report was published as Learning: the Treasure Within. This work continues to have a significant influence on discourse on lifelong learning, forming the conceptual foundation for both the Canadian Composite Learning Index as well as the European Lifelong Learning Indicators (ELLI) project.

In 1994, members of the Socialist Party attempted to persuade Delors to run for president. Polls showed that he would have a very good chance of defeating either of the main conservative contenders, Prime Minister Édouard Balladur and Mayor of Paris Jacques Chirac. However Delors declined to run and the eventual Socialist nominee, Lionel Jospin, was defeated in the 1995 presidential election by Jacques Chirac.

Delors founded the Paris-based, centre-left think tank Notre Europe in 1996 and remained one of its presidents for the rest of his life. He was president of the Conseil de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale, and an honorary member of both the Institut Aspen France and the Club of Rome.

On 15 September 2010, Delors supported the new initiative Spinelli Group, which was founded to reinvigorate the striving for federalization of the European Union. Other prominent supporters include Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Guy Verhofstadt, Sylvie Goulard, Andrew Duff, and Elmar Brok. In 2010, Delors was the first to be given the Leonardo European Corporate Learning Award.

In 2012, Delors stated in the Handelsblatt newspaper that "If the British cannot support the trend towards more integration in Europe, we can nevertheless remain friends, but on a different basis. I could imagine a form such as a European economic area or a free-trade agreement."

On 25 June 2015, Donald Tusk announced that Delors would become the third person to have the title of Honorary Citizen of Europe bestowed upon them, in recognition of "his remarkable contribution to the development of the European project".

In March 2024, Delores was posthumously given a "Special Recognition" award at The Parliament Magazine annual MEP Awards, in recognition of his contributions towards the European project, to mark the awards' 20th anniversary.

Personal life and death
Delors was married to Marie Lephaille until her death in 2020. They had a daughter, Martine Aubry, who served as First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 2008 to 2012, and a son, Jean-Paul Delors, who was a journalist and died aged 29 in 1982 from leukaemia.

Delors died in his sleep at his home in Paris, on 27 December 2023, aged 98. He was honored with a state funeral at the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris on 5 January in the presence of political figures from all over Europe before his burial alongside his wife and his son at the Fontaine-la-Gaillarde cemetery.

Awards

 * 1990: Franklin D. Roosevelt Freedom Medal for Freedom of Speech
 * 1999: Member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium.
 * 2005: Pax Christi International Peace Award
 * 2015: Honorary Citizen of Europe
 * 2024: Special Recognition 20th Anniversary Award at The Parliament Magazine MEP Awards.

Honours

 * : First Class of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana
 * : Commander of the Legion of Honour (2005; previously appointed Officer in 1999)
 * : Medal of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Jacques Delors


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Yukaghir people

The Yukaghirs, or Yukagirs ( (odul, detkil), юкаги́ры), are a Siberian ethnic group in the Russian Far East, living in the basin of the Kolyma River.

Geographic distribution
The Tundra Yukaghirs live in the Lower Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic; the Taiga Yukaghirs in the Upper Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic and in Srednekansky District of Magadan Oblast. By the time of Russian colonization in the 17th century, the Yukaghir tribal groups occupied territories from the Lena River to the mouth of the Anadyr River. The number of the Yukaghirs decreased between the 17th and 19th centuries due to epidemics, internecine wars and Tsarist colonial policy which may have included genocide against the sedentary hunter-fisher Anaouls. Some of the Yukaghirs have assimilated with the Yakuts, Evens, and Russians.

Currently, Yukaghirs live in the Sakha Republic and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of the Russian Federation. According to the 2002 Census, their total number was 1,509 people, up from 1,112 recorded in the 1989 Census.

According to the latest 2001 all Ukrainian census, 12 Yukaghirs are living in Ukraine. Only 2 of them indicated Yukaghir as their native language. For the remaining others (6) it is Russian and for 1 it is some other tongue.

Genetics
Genetically, Yukaghirs exhibit roughly equal frequencies of the Y-DNA haplogroups N1c, Q1, and C2 (formerly C3).

According to another study, out of 11 Yukaghir males 3 turned out to belong to the Y-haplogroup N1c (different subclade from the one found in Yakuts), another 4 - to the Y-haplogroup C2 (former C3; for the most part, the same subclade that's also found in Koryaks), one more - to the Y-haplogroup O, and the rest 3 exhibit apparent Russian genetic influence (two individuals belonging to the Y-haplogroup R1a, and one more - to the Y-haplogroup I2a). The study also found no similarities between Yukaghirs and Chukchis in regards to mitochondrial DNA.

Subethnic groups
Modern Yukaghirs are thought to be descendants of the late Neolithic Ymyyakhtakh culture.

The 13 tribes that once constituted the Yukaghir group are: Vadul-Alais, Odul, Chuvan, Anaoul, Lavren, Olyuben, Omok, Penjin, Khodynts, Khoromoy, Shoromboy, Yandin, and Yandyr.

The surviving three tribes are the Odul of Nelemnoe, the Vadul of Andryushkino and the Chuvan of the Anadyr river area. Of the extinct groups, the most important were the Khodynts, the Anaoul (both of the Anadyr River area), and the Omok (north of the Chuvan). Sometimes the Chuvan are considered a separate tribe. The Chuvantsy language has been extinct since the early 20th century. In 2002, 1,087 identified themselves as Chuvan compared to more than 1,300 in 1989. The Vadul are mainly involved in reindeer herding while the Odul (Kogime) are mostly hunter-gatherers. The Vadul are also known as Tundra Yukaghir. The Odul are also known as Taiga Yukaghir or Kolyma Yukaghir. The Vadul and Odul languages are as different as German is from Dutch. Both are nearing extinction, and Odul is in a much weaker state compared to Vadul. In the 1989 census, more than 700 of the Yukaghirs identified as Vadul while fewer than 400 were Odul.

The Yukaghir are one of the oldest peoples in North-Eastern Asia. Originally they lived over a huge territory from Lake Baikal to the Arctic Ocean. By the time of the first encounter with Russians, Yukaghir were divided into twelve tribes with around 9,000 people. The Yukagir ethnonym is Odul or Vadul, which means “mighty”.

Tribal divisions among the Yukaghir are fading now, although in every census from 1926, significant number of tribesmen identified themselves with tribal divisions like Anaoul, Odul and Vadul rather than describing themselves as Yukaghir. The Soviet government actively discouraged this tendency and now only the most elderly identify this way. In the 2002 census, out of the 1,509 Yukaghirs, 51 identified themselves as Omok, 40 as Alais, 21 as Odul, 17 as Vadul, 6 as Khangait and 4 as Detkil.

Clan system
The head of every clan was an elder called a Ligey Shomorokh. His was the final word in all aspects of life. Hunting leaders were Khangitche, and war leaders were Tonbaia Shomorokh ("the mighty man"). Women and teenagers had equal voices with men. The internal life of the community was under the control of the older women. Their decisions in those matters were indisputable.

In the beginning of every summer all clans gathered for the Sakhadzibe festival, where mutual Yukaghir questions were discussed.

In the Yakut-Sakha Republic there are three nomadic extended family communities. These are Tchaila in Nizhnekolymsky District, Teki Odulok in Verkhnekolymsky District and Ianugail in Ust-Yansky District. The head of Ianugail is I. I. Tomsky. The community's main activities are deer hunting and fishing. Tchaila is the biggest of the three. Its head is S. I. Kurilov. They have 4000 domesticated reindeer, 200 horses, and 20 cows. The community also hunts deer and polar foxes. There is also a shop where traditional skin and fur garments are made. The head of Teki Odulok is N. I. Shalugin. Their base is the village of Nelemnoe. This community is in the most difficult situation. Due to the “creative interpretation” of various Perestroika and privatization laws by the local and district administration and so-called businessmen, the community has lost all their reindeer, cows and even part of its land. All they have left are about 50 horses. They have no money for supplies for hunting and fishing. 80% of all adult population is de facto unemployed.

The highest forum for Yukagir is the all-people gathering Suktuul.

Culture
The main traditional activity is nomadic and semi-nomadic hunting of deer, moose, wild sheep, and sable, as well as fishing. Reindeer are bred mostly for transportation. Horses are known among the Yukaghir as "domestic reindeer of Yakuts" (Yoqod ile in Tundra Yukaghir or Yaqad āçə in Kolyma Yukaghir). A Yukaghir house is called a chum.

The decline of traditional economic activities, the unfavorable environmental situation of the Yukaghir's traditional lands and waters, and the absence of local and federal laws and executive mechanisms protecting indigenous peoples in Russia, have not aided the welfare and continuation of traditional Yukaghir communities. The average life span for men is 45 years, and 54 years for women. Child mortality is the highest in the Yakut-Sakha Republic. In addition, one expedition made to the Yukaghir found that most had no knowledge of traditional Yukaghir culture.

Language
The Yukaghir languages are a small language family of two closely related languages, Tundra Yukaghir and Kolyma Yukaghir, although there used to be more. They are unclassified languages: their origin and relation to other languages are unknown; some scholars consider them distantly related to the Uralic languages, but this classification is not accepted by the majority of specialists in Uralic linguistics. The languages are regarded as moribund, since less than 370 people can speak either Yukaghir language. Most Yukaghirs today speak Yakut and Russian.

Religion
Alongside Russian Orthodox beliefs, Yukaghirs practice shamanism. The dominant cults are ancestral spirits, the spirits of Fire, Sun (Pugu), Hunting, Earth, and Water, which can act as protectors or as enemies of people. The most important is the cult of Pugu, the Sun, who is the highest judge in all disputes. The spirits of the dead go to a place called Aibidzi. Every clan had a shaman called an alma. After death every alma was treated as a deity, and the body of the dead alma was dismembered and kept by the clan as relics. The Yukaghir still continue traditions stemming from their origins as nomadic reindeer-hunters: they practice dog sacrifice and have an epic poem based around crows. The animal cult was especially strong in the elk cult. There was a number of rituals and taboos connected with elk and deer hunting.

title: Yukaghir people


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Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2003

This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2003.

''Note: This page is incomplete and does not include all deaths. Additionally, it doesn't include the numerous other attacks which failed to murder, maim, or wound.''

January

 * 1 January: Tareq Ziad Duas 15-year-old, killed on 1 January 2003. Sami Zidan 22-year-old, killed on 1 January 2003, Muhammad 'Atiyyah Duas 15-year-old killed on 1 January 2003, Jihad Jum'ah 'Abd 5 year-old, killed on 1 January 2003
 * 2 January: The charred body of Massoud Makhluf Alon, 72, from Menahemiya in the Lower Galilee, was found in the northern Jordan Valley in his burned out car. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the murder. Tammer Khader 21-year-old, killed on 2 January 2003
 * 5 January: 23 people, including eight foreigners, were murdered in two nearly simultaneous suicide bombings in central Tel Aviv. More than 100 others were reported seriously injured. Islamic Jihad and Yasser Arafat's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility. Another arm of Yassar Arafat's movement denied responsibility.
 * 6 January: Israeli forces raided the Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza and killed three Palestinians and wounded a dozen more. Baker Muhammad Hadura 24-year-old, killed; Nassim Hassan Abu Maliah 25-year-old, killed; Iyad Muhammad Abu Za'id 26-year-old, killed
 * 8 January: Ahmad 'Ajaj 8 January 2003, Aiman Muhammad Haneideq 30-year-old killed
 * 10 January: Tareq Mahmoud 'Abd al-Quader Jadu 20-year-old, killed
 * 11 January: Basman Shnir 20-year-old killed; 'Abd a-Latif Wadi 30-year-old, killed
 * 12 January: Eli Biton, a 48-year-old man was killed and four people wounded when terrorists infiltrated Moshav Gadish and opened fire. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. Mikhail Kazakov, 34, of Jerusalem was killed by militants who infiltrated across the Israel-Egypt border, near the Negev town of Nitzana.
 * 12 January: Three Palestinians were killed; Muhammad Quar'a 14-year-old resident of Khan Yunis, killed; 'Ali Thaher Nassar 45-year-old killed; Hamadeh 'Abd a-Rahman a-Najar 13-year-old killed on 12 January 2003 and 12 wounded as 50 Israeli army vehicles accompanied with bulldozers and helicopters entered the town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during the night 11–12 January. Seven civilian facilities were blown up.
 * 13 January: Jamal Mahmoud Abu al-Qumbuz 20-year-old killed
 * 17 January: 34-year-old Netanel Ozeri was killed when militants entered his home near Kiryat Arba, and opened fire. His 5-year-old daughter and two others were wounded. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 23 January: Cpl. Ronald Berer, 20, of Rehovot; Cpl. Assaf Bitan, 19, of Afula; and St.-Sgt. Ya'akov Naim, 20, of Kfar Monash were killed by militants while on patrol south of Hebron. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 26 January: During the night 25–26 January Israeli forces invaded the al-Zaytoun neighbourhood of Gaza City. Twelve Palestinians were killed, three were hit with shrapnel from an artillery shell and nine were shot dead. 17 workshops were blown up and 15 more were severely damaged.
 * 31 January: 13 Palestinians and over 50 wounded as the IDF made its deepest incursion in Gaza City in years. Scores of buildings was raided and 13 factories blown up, many of them used to manufacture weapons.

February

 * 6 February: Amir Ben-Aryeh, 21, of Maccabim, and St.-Sgt. Idan Suzin, 20, of Kiryat Tivon were killed and two more soldiers were wounded in a shooting attack in the area of Nablus. Both gunmen were killed by return fire from IDF troops. The PFLP and Fatah-Tanzim claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 11 February: Maj. Shahar Shmul, 24, of Jerusalem was killed by a Palestinian sniper near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem while checking a suspicious vehicle. The PFLP and the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 14 February: An Israeli Merkava III heavy tank was destroyed by a mine near Dugit and Beit Lahiya, killing 4 soldiers. Hamas claimed responsibility.
 * 23 February: Sgt. Doron Lev, 19, of Holon was shot and killed when a Palestinian sniper opened fire at an army position in the southern Gaza Strip. The PFLP claimed responsibility for the attack.

March

 * 5 March: Haifa bus 37 massacre – 17 killed, and about 53 injured in a suicide bombing on a bus in Haifa. Many of the fatalities were children returning home from school. The attack was conducted by Hamas.
 * 7 March: Rabbi Eli Horowitz and his wife Dina from Kiryat Arba, were killed and five wounded by armed militants disguised as Jewish worshippers who infiltrated Kiryat Arba, entered their home and murdered them while they were celebrating the Sabbath. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 10 March: Sgt. Tomer Ron, 20, of Moshav Moledet, was killed and four soldiers were wounded - one seriously - in Hebron, on the road between the Cave of the Patriarchs and Kiryat Arba, when Palestinian militants opened fire on a foot patrol. Two organizations - Hamas and Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front-General Command - claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 12 March: Sgt. Assaf Moshe Fuchs, 21, of Kibbutz Gvat was killed and another soldier wounded Wednesday morning in an exchange of fire with wanted militants from the Islamic Jihad in the West Bank village of Saida, near Tulkarm.
 * 16 March: Rachel Corrie, an American member of the International Solidarity Movement in Rafah, was killed when she tried to obstruct an Israel Defense Forces bulldozer operating in a Palestinian residential area of Rafah.
 * 18 March: Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Ami Cohen, 27, of Netanya was killed and another soldier wounded south of Bethlehem when Palestinians opened fire during a search for wanted militants.
 * 19 March: A 51-year-old Israeli was shot dead while driving in his car between Mevo Dotan and Shaked in the West Bank). The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.

April

 * 8 April: Two Israeli combat helicopters, accompanied by an F-16 fighter jet, attacked a densely populated area of Gaza City. One helicopter launched two missiles against a car carrying Hamas leader Sa'id Arbid. Arbid and two other Hamas members were killed when the car exploded. Soon after a crowd of Palestinians gathered around the car, the helicopter fired a third missile and killed five more. In total seven Palestinians were killed and 53 more were wounded.
 * 10 April: St.-Sgt. Yigal Lifshitz, 20, of Rishon Lezion, and St.-Sgt. Ofer Sharabi, 21, of Givat Shmuel were killed and nine others wounded when Palestinian militants opened fire before dawn on their base near Bekaot in the northern Jordan Valley. The PFLP and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 11 April: Tom Hurndall, a British member of the International Solidarity Movement, was shot by an IDF sniper in a crossfire after Palestinians fires an RPG at them. The sniper was sentenced to 8 years in prison for manslaughter. He died after almost a year in coma 13 January 2004.
 * 13 April: Gabriel (Gabi) Pedatzur, 49, of Kochav Yair was killed by militants in the Ben Shemen forest.
 * 15 April: An Israeli and a Palestinian were killed and four Israelis were wounded when a Palestinian militant opened fire at the Karni industrial zone crossing in the Gaza Strip. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. Additionally, Daniel Mandel, 24, of Alon Shvut was killed and another soldier was wounded in an exchange of gunfire during a search for wanted Hamas militants in Nablus.
 * 20 April: IDF photographer Cpl. Lior Ziv, 19, of Holon, was killed and three other soldiers were wounded during an operation to destroy a Hamas smuggling tunnel in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip.
 * 24 April: A 23-year-old Israeli security guard was killed and 13 were wounded in a suicide bombing outside the train station in Kfar Saba. Groups related to the Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the PFLP claimed joint responsibility for the attack.
 * 30 April: Three Israelis were killed, and about 60 injured when a British Muslim suicide bomber blows himself up outside Mike's Place bar on the Tel Aviv coast. A second would-be suicide bomber, also a British citizen, failed to explode and attempted to escape through the sea. His body was washed away to the shore a few days later. On 8 March 2004, Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, and released a videotape showing an interview with the two suicide bombers.

May

 * 2 May: A British cameraman was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Rafah.
 * 4 May: The body of Tali Weinberg, 26, of Beit Aryeh, was discovered in a garage in Rosh Ha'ayin with numerous stab wounds. The suspect, Weinberg's boyfriend, arrested on June 11, a 21-year-old Arab resident of Kafr Qasem, is believed to have carried out the murder as part of a "loyalty test" administered by Palestinian terrorist organizations.
 * 5 May: An Israeli was killed and two others (including the victim's 6-year-old daughter) were seriously wounded when militants fired shots at their vehicle near Shvut Rachel, in the northern West Bank. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 11 May: A 53-year-old Israeli man was shot in the head and killed by Palestinians in a roadside ambush north of [Jerusalem]. Both Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 17 May: Gadi Levy and his wife Dina were killed by a suicide bomber in Hebron. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 18 May: Palestinian suicide bomber kills seven, wounds 20 on bus in Jerusalem's French Hill district. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 19 May: A suicide bomber blows herself up at the entrance to a mall in the northern Israeli town of Afula. Three people were killed and about 60 wounded. The Islamic Jihad and the Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades both claimed responsibility for the attack.

June

 * 5 June: The bodies an Israeli adult and child were found near Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem, brutally beaten and stabbed to death.
 * 8 June: Haviv Dadon, 16, of Shlomi was killed and four other Israelis wounded in a Hizbullah rocket attack. Four soldiers were killed and four reserve soldiers were wounded when Palestinian militants wearing IDF uniforms opened fire on an IDF outpost near the Erez checkpoint and industrial zone in the Gaza Strip. Three militants were killed by IDF soldiers. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad issued a joint statement claiming responsibility for the attack. Sgt. Matan Gadri, 21, of Moshav Moledet was killed in Hebron while pursuing two Palestinian gunmen who earlier had wounded a Border Policeman on guard at the Tomb of the Patriarchs. The two militants were killed.
 * 11 June: 17 people were killed and over 100 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated himself on board a #14A bus in downtown Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility.
 * 12 June: A 51-year-old Israeli was found shot to death in his car in the West Bank. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 13 June: Sgt. Mordechai Sayada, 22, of Tirat Carmel, was shot to death in Jenin by a Palestinian sniper as his jeep patrol passed by. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 17 June: An Israeli 7-year-old girl was killed and three of her family members (including her younger sister) wounded when Palestinians, armed with assault rifles, attacked the car they were travelling in, on road no. 6, some few hundreds meters far from Qalqiliya. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility.
 * 19 June: An Israeli shopkeeper was killed in Sdei-Trumot (a village in northern Israel), when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up inside the shop. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 20 June: A 47-year-old Israeli was killed when his car was fired upon in an ambush by Palestinians north of Ramallah. His parents, US citizens, were seriously wounded and his wife lightly injured. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 26 June: An Israeli phone company employee was killed in a shooting attack by a Palestinian teenager in the Israeli Arab town of Baka al-Garbiyeh. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 30 June: A 46-year-old construction worker from Bulgaria was killed in a shooting attack on a road west of Jenin, while driving a truck. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, in opposition to the declared ceasefire.

July

 * 7 July: A 65-year-old Israeli woman was killed in her home in Moshav Kfar Yavetz and three of her grandchildren lightly wounded in a suicide bombing. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 15 July: A 24-year-old Israeli was stabbed to death while protecting his girlfriend against a Palestinian armed with a long-bladed knife on Tel Aviv's beach-front promenade. The militant, who was shot and apprehended, was a member of the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 21 July: The body of IDF soldier Cpl. Oleg Shaichat, 20, of Upper Nazareth, abducted and murdered on July 21 while on his way home, was found on July 28, buried in an olive grove near Kafr Kana, an Arab village in the Lower Galilee.

August

 * 8 August: Third Petty Officer Roi Oren, 20, an Israel Navy commando, was shot in the head and killed in an assault on a Hamas bomb factory in Nablus.
 * 12 August: A 43-year-old Israeli was murdered by a teenage Palestinian suicide bomber who detonated himself in a Rosh Ha'ayin supermarket.
 * 12 August: Two Israelis were killed by a teenage Palestinian suicide bomber who detonated himself at a bus stop outside Ariel.
 * 19 August: Jerusalem bus 2 massacre – 23 killed, 136 wounded by an explosion, caused by a Palestinian suicide bomber, on board a bus in Jerusalem. Among the victims were several children. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Hebron, and Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 29 August: A 25-year-old Israeli was killed in a shooting attack while driving north-east of Ramallah. His wife who was seven months pregnant, sustained moderate injuries, and gave birth to a baby girl by Caesarean section. The Fatah al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

September

 * 4 September: Sgt. Gabriel Uziel, 20, of Givat Ze'ev was shot and mortally wounded by a militant sniper in Jenin; he died en route to the hospital. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 5 September: 2nd Petty Officer Ra'anan Komemi, 23, of Moshav Aminadav, from the Naval Commandos was killed in a clash with armed Palestinians in Nablus. A senior Hamas bomb-maker, believed to have orchestrated several fatal suicide bombings, was also killed in the clash. Four soldiers were wounded, one seriously.
 * 9 September: Nine non-combat soldiers were killed and over 30 wound when a suicide bomber exploded in a bus stop near Asaf-Ha-Rofe hospital and the military base of Tzrifin. Hamas claimed responsibility.
 * 9 September: Seven people were killed and over 50 wounded when a suicide bomber exploded at the Café Hillel in Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility.
 * 25 September: St.-Sgt. Avihu Keinan, 22, of Shilo was killed and six soldiers wounded in an IDF operation to arrest wanted Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants in the El Boureij refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip.
 * 26 September: A 7-month-old baby girl and a 29-year-old man were killed, and both of the baby's parents were wounded, when a Palestinian gunman entered their home in Negohot (in the West Bank) and opened fire during the family's celebration of the Jewish New Year.

October

 * 4 October: Maxim restaurant suicide bombing – 21 people were killed and 64 wounded when the female suicide bomber Hanadi Jaradat explodes in the Jewish-Arab Maxim restaurant in Haifa. Four of the victims were children, including a 2-month-old. The Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for the suicide-massacre. The suicide bombing attack came just a day before Yom Kippur.
 * 15 October: Three American diplomatic personnel - John Eric Branchizio, 37, of Texas, John Martin Linde, Jr., 30, of Missouri, and Mark T. Parson, 31, of New York, were killed and one was wounded at the Beit Hanoun junction in the Gaza Strip when a massive bomb demolished an armor-plated jeep in a convoy carrying U.S. diplomats.
 * 19 October: Three Israeli soldiers were killed and two more were injured after a roadside ambush near Ein-Yabrud village, south of Ofra on the West Bank.
 * 20 October: The Israeli air force launched five attacks in Gaza, killing 14 people and wounding 100.
 * 24 October: Two female soldiers and one male soldier were killed after two militants infiltrated into the military court inside Netzarim settlement on the Gaza Strip. Three more soldier were wounded.

November

 * 18 November: Two soldiers were killed by a Palestinian gunman in a checkpoint near Bethlehem.
 * 19 November: Four people were injured and one woman was killed, when an Arab militant, Ahmed Jahid, opened fire on a group of tourist in Rabin border crossing between the Arava (Israel) and Aqaba (Jordan). The militant was killed by Israeli security guards and it is believed he was sent by Al-Qaeda.
 * 22 November: Two Israeli civilian security guards were killed in a construction site near Nahal Kidron at the outskirts of Jerusalem. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility.
 * 26 November: Three Palestinian civilians riding in a car on the Gaza Strip were killed by Israeli soldiers.

December

 * 3 December: The Israeli security forces captured two militants on their way to commit a massacre in Yokneam Illit school. The two were members of the Palestinian security apparatus and were armed with a 10 kg explosive belt.
 * 22 December: Capt. Hagai Bibi, 24, of Maaleh Adumim, and Capt. Leonardo (Alex) Weissman, 23, of Afula were killed when a Palestinian militant opened fire and threw hand grenades as they emerged from their jeep on the Kissufim-Gush Katif road in the Gaza Strip. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 25 December: 4 Israelis were killed as a 17-year-old suicide bomber blew himself up in a bus station on a main road between Tel Aviv and Petah Tikva. The PFLP claimed responsibility.