Bevan Congdon
New Zealand captain of the early 1970s who led his country to its first victory against Australia
BEVAN CONGDON, the New Zealand batsman and captain, who has died in Auckland the day before his 80th birthday, was not the most naturally talented of players; few excelled him, however, in courage, determination and self-discipline.
Lean and craggy, with a symbolically jutting jaw, Congdon passed his cricketing career in a relentless quest for self-improvement. As a boy he had loved to slog the ball; steadily, though, he tightened his defence and refined his stroke play. “I base my game,” he explained, “on keeping everything as simple as possible, and not allowing tensions to come into it, in any circumstances.”
That was difficult, for in his time the New Zealand team was almost always under pressure. When Congdon joined the Test side in 1965, shortly before his 27th birthday, the country had played 63 Test matches in 35 years, and achieved but three victories.
Notwithstanding Congdon’s ferocious concentration, he was 34 before his batting reached its apogee, in the Caribbean in 1972, and then in England the following year. In the West Indies, he claimed, he gained new confidence from batting with Glenn Turner.
“I think my footwork improved”, he reflected. “Perhaps, before, I tended to make involuntary movements one way or the other. Now I try to see the line and the length of the ball before I commit myself, and I am clearer in my decision as to what I am going to do”.
In March 1972, in the third Test, at Port-of-spain, Trinidad, Congdon put together scores of 166 not out and 82. Then, taking over the captaincy from Graham Dowling for the next Test, in Barbados, he added another century. All five matches in that series were drawn. And Congdon had scored 531 runs at an average of 88.50.
That captaincy inspired his batting was further demonstrated during New Zealand’s tour of England in 1973. When, in the first Test at Trent Bridge, the Kiwis were tumbled out for 97 in their first innings, and set 479 to win in their second, an England victory appeared a foregone conclusion – still more when Congdon, on 24, was struck in the face by a delivery from John Snow.
New Zealand slumped to 130 for four. At this stage, however, Congdon and Vic Pollard put on 177 for the fourth wicket, after which Ken Wadsworth helped his captain take the total to 402 for five. Seventy-seven to win, and five wickets in hand: an astonishing victory seemed on the cards. At lunchtime on the last day Congdon kept his nerves at bay by reading a novel by CS Forester.
For once, Horatio Hornblower failed in his mission. Wickets fell; Congdon himself was bowled by Geoff Arnold for 176; and England scraped home by 38 runs. New Zealand had suffered one of the most triumphant defeats in Test history.
In the next contest, at Lord’s, England were dismissed for an unsatisfactory 253, and New Zealand replied with 551 for nine declared. This time Congdon scored 175. As Brian Johnston observed, the fellow seemed to have a fatal weakness in the 170s. England, though, escaped with a draw, and carried off the series 2-0.
The youngest of six boys, Bevan Ernest Congdon was born on February 11 1938 at Motueka, in Tasman Bay at the northern end of New Zealand’s South Island. This was then proudly referred to as the tobacco district; the Congdon family, however, ran a furniture business.
The cricket nets in Motueka, Congdon wryly recalled, provided an excellent training in dealing with unpredictable bounce. His sporting ambition was early evident, though as a teenager his efforts were divided between cricket and tennis.
As a cricketer in a remote rural area, it was hard to make a mark. Nevertheless, in December 1960, aged 22, Congdon won a place in the team of Central Districts, which had been admitted to the Plunket Shield competition in 1950-51.
For four seasons Congdon’s performances for Central Districts were adequate but unremarkable. Then in December 1964 he scored his first century against Wellington, whose captain, John Reid, also led the national side. In January 1965 Congdon was chosen for his first Test, against Pakistan at Wellington.
He did well, with scores of 42 and 30, and was promoted to opening batsman for the next Test. But both on New Zealand’s tour of India and Pakistan (March and April 1965), and in England that summer, he found Test runs hard to come by.
Congdon’s breakthrough came early in 1966, with an innings of 104 against England at Christchurch. Thereafter his batting became more consistent. His 61 not out in the second innings against India at Christchurch in February 1968 guided New Zealand to their fourth Test victory.
Next year, 1969, Congdon confirmed his growing status with an innings of 85 against the West Indies in Auckland, while his half century in the second Test at Wellington helped set New Zealand on the path to another win. Later that year, in India, both the team and Congdon confirmed their growing status in a series which was tied 1-1. After Congdon’s great deeds in 1972 and 1973, he experienced something of a letdown in Australia in 1973-74.
But when, immediately afterwards, the Australians toured New Zealand, he scored 132 in the first Test in Wellington, and then in Christchurch led his country to its first victory against Australia. On this occasion it was his medium-fast swing bowling that proved vital, as he claimed the wickets of Greg Chappell, Rodney Marsh and Kevin O’keeffe.
This was, in fact, Congdon’s sole victory in his 17 Tests as captain of New Zealand; for the rest, he had lost seven and drawn nine. Being unavailable for the World Cup of 1975, he now surrendered the leadership. Perhaps he was too introverted and defensive to be a great captain; he never, however, lacked for fight and common sense, while away from the pitch he proved adept at public relations.
Playing on under the leadership of Mark Burgess, Congdon hit four fifties in a three-match series against India in 1976, and next year at Christchurch staved off defeat against Australia, more particularly against the fury of Dennis Lillee, with a fine innings of 107 not out.
On his last tour of England, in 1978, Congdon found runs easier to come by in the county games than the Test matches. Now 40, he retired at the end of the series.
In all, he had played in 61 Tests and scored 3,448 runs (including seven centuries) at an average of 32.22. His bowling improved with age: having taken only five wickets in his first 23 Tests, he added 54 more in his final 38, finishing with an average of 36.50 and an economy rate of 2.29 per over. His best bowling performance was five for 65 against India at Auckland in 1976.
After spending 10 years with Central Districts Congdon moved to Wellington in 1971-72, Otago from 1972-73 to 1973-4, and Canterbury from 1974-75 to 1977-78. Three times he was in the team which won the Plunket Shield: with Central Districts in 1966-67 and 1967-68, and with Canterbury in 1975-76.
In all Congdon’s 241 first-class games he amassed 13,101 runs at an average of 34.85. His highest score, 202 not out, was made for Central Districts against Otago in January 1969. His bowling claimed 204 wickets at 36.50. A fine fielder, particularly in the slips, he held 44 catches in Tests and 201 in all first-class cricket.
Congdon also proved extremely effective in the one-day game. In his 11 One Day Internationals he scored 338 in nine innings at an average of 56.33, with a strike rate of 71.61, and a top score of 101 from 110 balls against England at Wellington in 1975. He led New Zealand to two victories, against Pakistan in 1973 and India in 1976.
Bevan Congdon worked for Wills NZ for many years, becoming the company’s sales manager, based in Wellington. In 1993-94 he returned to cricket as a national selector.
He was appointed OBE in 1975.
He is survived by his wife Shirley and two daughters.
Bevan Congdon, born February 11 1938, died February 10 2018