Fowler was born in
Accrington, Lancashire. Educated at
Accrington Grammar School and
Durham University, Fowler made his debut in
first-class cricket in 1979. He usually opened the batting for both county and country, and his most successful opening partnership was with
Gehan Mendis between 1986 and 1993. He made his
Test debut in 1982, when sixteen England players were banned for three years for participating in the
rebel tour of South Africa during the
apartheid era. His highest Test score was 201, made in a nine-hour
innings in
Madras (now Chennai); this was the first
double century by an English cricketer in India.
Mike Gatting also scored a double century in the same innings, the first time that two English batsmen had made double centuries in the same Test innings. However, he lost his place in the England team when the rebel tourists were reinstated, and he had neck trouble. He was not re-selected in Tests for the remainder of his career. His second Test century came against the
West Indies at
Lord's in 1984. Fowler's highest
One Day International score of 81 not out against
Pakistan came during the
1983 World Cup, in which he scored four consecutive half-centuries to help England to the semi-finals, averaging 72.00 for the tournament. He was the first player to achieve the feat of four consecutive fifty-plus scores in a World Cup, but these would be the only occasions that Fowler passed fifty in ODIs. Against
Leicestershire in the same year he scored ten sixes in successive shots, and five fours to make a century, although Leicestershire were employing non-specialist bowlers. He is the only batsman to score two complete hundreds in a match with the aid of a runner. Playing for Lancashire at
Southport in 1982, he strained his thigh while fielding on the first day during
Warwickshire's innings of 523–4 declared, but batted without a runner to score 26 not out at stumps. He then scored exactly 100 before lunch on the second day with
David Lloyd as his runner. In the second innings,
Ian Folley ran for him (and acknowledged the crowd's applause for the century) when Fowler scored 128 not out on the third day. In 1987, Fowler scored an unbeaten century in a
Sunday League match against
Somerset, despite an injury which forced him to bat with a runner. In 1992, Fowler suffered amongst others as Lancashire had a widescale clear-out of its playing staff. ==Post-Lancashire career==