May and Cowdrey effectively played football. They played Ramadhin as an off-spinner and and kicked his deliveries away all day. He was never the same again. Different LBW rule and no reviews in 1950s
I have no idea who to replace them with, as England appear to have tried almost every potential candidate to open and bat at three - and none have worked well. When Cook retires we really do have a problem (Root and Ali as openers?). Who is left to try?