Chris Cowdrey describes it as a "proud moment" to receive the his father's cap

Photos of the presentation available from MCC

Colin Cowdrey was formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame before the lecture that bears his name at Lord's, London on Wednesday evening.

The Hall of Fame, run in association with the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), recognises some of the truly great players from cricket's long and illustrious history.

Cowdrey's 21-year Test career for England spanned from 1954 to 1975 and in that time he scored 7,624 runs in 114 Tests averaging 44.06. He scored 22 centuries and 38 fifties and was the first player to appear in 100 Tests and passed fellow Hall of Famer Wally Hammond to become Test cricket's leading run-scorer.

The right-hand batsman captained England in 27 Tests, played 692 first-class matches scoring 42,719 runs at an average of 44.06 and remained heavily involved with the game after his playing career concluded at the age of 42.

Cowdrey was president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1986 and later became the first chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), playing an integral part in the ICC's history of separating the world's governing body from the MCC. His efforts in cricket were recognised in 1992 when he received a knighthood and later in 1997 he became the first English cricketer to be made a life peer.

He was a passionate advocate of the concept of the spirit of cricket and was instrumental in embedding it into the laws of the game.

Cowdrey was born in Bangalore, India in 1932 and played cricket for Kent, the MCC and University of Oxford as well as representing his country. He was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1956. He died on 4 December 2000.

Cowdrey's son, Chris, the former England, Glamorgan and Kent player, received the cap on behalf of his father at the 2009 Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's last night. He said: "It is a proud moment for me to be here to accept this cap on behalf of my father.

"And how proud he would have been to be included in the ICC's Cricket Hall of Fame, if only so he could challenge for a place in England's top seven of all time.

"I think he'd be delighted by how the spirit of cricket has been embraced and how increasingly it is becoming more recognised as a means towards protecting everything that is good about our great game.

"I'd like to thank the ICC very much on behalf of my father and may the spirit of cricket live on," he said.

ICC President David Morgan, who presented the cap, said, "It is great honour to have presented Chris with his father's cap and I cannot think of a more fitting occasion to have done so than at the Cowdrey Lecture last night.

"Lord Cowdrey was part of the foundation of the ICC in its current form and to him we are truly grateful for the hard work and efforts he put toward to the great game of cricket.

"While he was a fine batsman, as is clear from his impressive record in Test and other first-class cricket, he was a top-class administrator and one who was particularly helpful to me during the period when the England and Wales Cricket Board was being formed."

Note: free-to-use photographs from the presentation of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame cap to Chris Cowdrey on behalf of his father, Colin, are available from the MCC. Please contact MCC media officer Abi Carter at abi.carter@mcc.org for more details. The MCC also has photos of Adam Gilchrist delivering the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's last night.

Other ICC Cricket Hall of Famers to have received their caps so far in 2009 are legendary New Zealand all-rounder Richard Hadlee ex-Australia wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, 12 former West Indies players or their family members or representatives - batting greats Clive Lloyd, Vivian Richards and Rohan Kanhai, champion all-rounder Garfield Sobers, the three Ws Everton Weekes, Clyde Walcott and Frank Worrell, opener Gordon Greenidge, fast bowlers Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Andy Roberts, and star off-spinner Lance Gibbs - also ex-South Africa batsmen Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock, former Pakistan stalwarts Javed Miandad, Hanif Mohammad and Imran Khan and England's Alec Bedser.

Further cap presentations will be made during the course of the year and a limited number of inductees, in addition to the 55 already chosen, will be named during 2009.

*ICC Cricket Hall of Fame - initial inductees (55):

Sydney Barnes, Bishan Bedi, Alec Bedser, Richie Benaud, Allan Border, Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott, Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Denis Compton, Colin Cowdrey, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Lance Gibbs, Graham Gooch, David Gower, WG Grace, Tom Graveney, Gordon Greenidge, Richard Hadlee, Walter Hammond, Neil Harvey, George Headley, Jack Hobbs, Michael Holding, Leonard Hutton, Rohan Kanhai, Imran Khan, Alan Knott, Jim Laker, Harold Larwood, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Clive Lloyd, Hanif Mohammad, Rodney Marsh, Malcolm Marshall, Peter May, Javed Miandad, Keith Miller, Bill O'Reilly, Graeme Pollock, Wilfred Rhodes, Barry Richards, Vivian Richards, Andy Roberts, Garfield Sobers, Brian Statham, Fred Trueman, Derek Underwood, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes, Frank Woolley, Frank Worrell.

About the ICC centenary year

ICC President David Morgan and Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat officially launched the ICC centenary year in Sydney, Australia on 2 January by announcing the formation of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, in association with FICA.

The ICC's centenary year of 2009 is a global celebration with events taking place around the world to reflect all that is great about the game.

On the field these events include the ICC Women's World Cup (won by England), the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier (won by Ireland), the ICC World Twenty20 event for men and women (won by Pakistan and England respectively) and the ICC Champions Trophy.

And off the field there will be the opening of the ICC Global Cricket Academy and the inauguration of the ICC's new headquarters, both of which are in Dubai, and an ICC cricket history conference at St Antony's College, Oxford in the United Kingdom in July.

The ICC will also be celebrating the contribution of volunteers across the world through the award of 1,000 centenary medals and will announce new developments to its social responsibility partnership on HIV/AIDS.

During the course of 2009, each of the ICC's 104 Members will be hosting activities inspired by the special spirit of cricket as part of the global Catch the Spirit centenary celebration.

To promote this theme and the launch of the ICC's centenary year website, www.catchthespirit.com, stars of the international game have named their "Catch the Spirit" moments which best encapsulate the spirit of cricket.

Among those stars that can be seen on the website, Yuvraj Singh of India speaks of his experiences in Pakistan - India matches and South Africa's Jacques Kallis reflects on his side's famous chase of 438 to beat Australia in an ODI in Johannesburg.