Congdon was a ‘great team man’
Bevan Congdon was a tough cricketer in tough times.
New Zealand’s 12th test captain died on Saturday, one day short of his 80th birthday, after a long illness.
He led the country to their first win over Australia, in Christchurch in 1974, and played in their first wins over India, in 1968, Pakistan, in 1969, and England, in 1978.
Congdon died on the 40th anniversary of the first day of that historic win over England at Wellington’s Basin Reserve.
His greatest individual performances were on tour in the West Indies in 1972, where he averaged 88.50, and in England in 1973, where he averaged 72.40.
On the latter tour, he scored 176 and 175 in back-to-back tests, tremendous innings after he was hit in the face by England quick John Snow early in the first one.
The twin centuries prompted BBC radio commentator Brian Johnston to remark that Congdon appeared ‘‘to have a weakness in the 170s’’.
‘‘That sort of summarised him really,’’ said John Parker, who played 22 tests alongside Congdon.
‘‘He was just a great team man, who got in there and did what needed to be done.’’
Congdon was a mainstay in the New Zealand side at a time when they started to turn a corner and become competitive on the world stage.
When he made his test debut in 1965, New Zealand had only won three tests, but by the time he retired in 1978, they had added seven more, all of which he played in.
"It was in those sort of days, in my view, that New Zealand cricket really started to step up,’’ Parker said.
‘‘You’ve got to remember in those days there was no Bangladesh, there was no Sri Lanka, there was no Zimbabwe to practice against, it was all the real thing.
‘‘There was no South Africa admittedly, but it was all frontline stuff, and everything was tough.’’
In those tough times, Congdon was exactly the kind of determined batsman that was needed.
‘‘Congo, when he got out there, he exemplified what was required,’’ Parker said.
‘‘He very rarely gave his wicket away. In his own way, he was incredibly kind too.
‘‘He was very thoughtful to the young players, and helped them along, as appropriately to those times. [He] erred on the tough side, but knew that people had to learn their own lessons. He was the absolute epitome of what you had to be to survive in those days.’’
The win over Australia at Lancaster Park in 1974 was the only one during Congdon’s 17 tests as captain, but he also made important contributions in the historic wins over India and England.
With 88 required to win against India at Lancaster Park in 1968, he made an unbeaten 61, and his 44 in the first innings of the win over England at the Basin Reserve in 1978 was the third-highest score of the match.
Parker said the win over an Australian side led by Ian Chappell in particular was exceptional.
‘‘If you look at their batting lineup, there’s three or four all-time greats in there. That was a particularly good performance.’’
Congdon scored 3448 runs at an average of 32.22 in his 61 tests, with seven centuries.
At the time of his retirement, he had scored more test runs than any other New Zealander, and 40 years on, he still sits ninth on the all-time list. He was also a more-than-handy seamer, taking 59 test wickets at an average of 36.50.
He also played 11 one-day internationals, and had the honour of captaining New Zealand in their first match, against Pakistan at Lancaster Park in 1973.
Congdon is survived by his wife Shirley.