[4] He helped the Hawke's Bay Cricket Association bring out leading English professionals, including Albert Trott and Jack Board, to coach local players.

[5] He also developed the Lowry property, which had been largely a sheep and cattle farm, into one of New Zealand's leading racehorse studs.

[6] Thomas Henry and Marsie had five children between 1898 and 1904:[7] Tom, Jim (who won a tennis Blue at Cambridge University before returning to run part of Okawa),[8] Ralph (Rugby union Blue at Cambridge, another Lowry farmer, and the author of the book Taihape, Be Happy, Die Happy),[9] Gertrude (known as "Beet") (who married Tom's Cambridge University friend Percy Chapman, who captained the English Test cricket team)[10] and Marion (who married Reg Bettington, Oxford University cricket captain and later medical specialist in New Zealand).

[11] Lowry was educated at home until he was 10, when he was enrolled at Heretaunga School for boys in Hastings, where he received cricket coaching from Jack Board.

[13] There he captained the cricket first XI in 1915 and 1916 and the Rugby first XV in 1916, as well as winning the school's heavyweight boxing title.

His cricket coaches at Christ's College were three New Zealand representatives, James Lawrence, Harold Lusk and Tom Carlton.

[19] Despite his clear cricketing skills, Lowry struggled to establish himself in what was then an excellent first-class side in his first two years at Cambridge, and did not earn his Blue.

[23] Lowry was captain of Cambridge in 1924, leading them to victory in the annual match against Oxford University at Lord's.

[24] Digby Jephson wrote of his captaincy: "There was no fuss – no needless shifting of a well-placed field, no hesitation.

Although Lowry achieved his BA degree in history, he was more interested in the extracurricular activities that Cambridge University life offered than in study.

[27] Playing in a local cricket match for Moawhango against Taihape in December 1924 Lowry took 9 for 6, including four wickets in successive balls.

[28] Although he had played no first-class cricket in the 1924–25 season, Lowry was selected in the New Zealand team that toured Australia in 1925–26.

[37] In 1927–28 Lowry scored 317 runs at 63.40 in the Plunket Shield, coming second in the national aggregates and averages and helping Wellington to the championship.

In the lead-up to New Zealand's first Test series against England in 1929–30 he led Wellington to victory in the Plunket Shield, scoring 255 runs at 42.50.

[41] In the First Test Lowry was out for a second-ball duck in the first innings, but top-scored in the second with 40, the last batsman out as New Zealand tried unsuccessfully to set England a challenging target.

Lowry again top-scored in the Fourth Test, scoring 80 and adding 100 for the seventh wicket with Herb McGirr to take the side to safety.

At a time of financial difficulty for New Zealand cricket he was also asked to manage the side, and was given only 14 players for the four-month tour.

[46] The only scheduled Test resulted in a high-scoring and close-fought draw after Lowry declared New Zealand's second innings.

In the tour overall Lowry scored 1290 runs at 31.46, coming fourth in both aggregates and averages, made 29 catches and six stumpings,[51] as well as taking 15 wickets at 18.26 with what Wisden called "his weird bowling theories".

Robertson-Glasgow said Lowry was "a remarkable cricketer, strong, versatile, courageous, original, and a leader in a thousand".

In a minor match in Taihape in December 1933 his team needed 69 runs to win in 18 minutes, and they won by 10 wickets, Lowry scoring 67 not out.