Ed Cowan left NSW at the end of the 2008-09 summer to move to Tasmania.
He went on to become one of the leading batsmen in the Sheffield Shield and played 18 Tests for Australia, scoring 1001 runs at 31.28 with one century and six half-centuries.
Cowan returned to Sydney at the start of 2015-16 citing family reasons. Tasmania’s loss was the Blues’ gain and he was immediately welcomed back into the NSW squad.
The left-hander started the season with a bang, scoring 356 runs at 59.33 in the Matador BBQs One Day Cup, including his second list-A century for NSW.
He then opened the Sheffield Shield with a sparkling century against South Australia in Adelaide, going on to score 509 runs at 36.65 for the season.