Born in Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire, Bowles made his first-class debut for that county in late July 1911 against Nottinghamshire, and took two wickets, his first being that of Notts' opener George Gunn.
In 1926, however, he returned to the higher level when he was chosen by Worcestershire, and at once he enjoyed the best season of his career, taking 47 wickets in his 27 games at 30.14 including his only five-wicket innings haul, 5–56 against Sussex at Hove.
His batting was also much improved, and he made two half-centuries, the higher of which - 73 against his old county of Gloucestershire - was to remain his career best.
He also kept wicket occasionally, picking up his only stumping when he dismissed Glamorgan's Dai Davies while substituting for named keeper Maurice Foster.
In 1928 he was once more a regular in the side, playing 24 games and sending down more than 300 overs, but was a major disappointment with the ball: his form in other departments of the game returned to some extent and he scored 473 runs and claimed 17 catches, but his bowling average ballooned to more than 80 as he took only 14 wickets all season.