CROWE PASSES AWAY AT 53
NZ GREAT LOSES BATTLE TO CANCER
LONDON: Martin Crowe, who has died aged 53 of cancer, was not just one of New Zealand’s greatest ever cricketers, but one of the most elegant batsmen the world has yet seen. A teenage prodigy who made his international debut at 19, he played 77 Tests — 16 of them as captain — between 1982 and 1995, and was the second highest run scorer in New Zealand Test history, with 5,444 runs at an average of 45.36. He had strong claim to being the best New Zealand batsman the country has so far produced.
Yet it was the way he played, rather than the sheer volume of his run-making that sparked the public’s imagination. Possessed of what Wisden called an “utterly correct, old-fashioned batting technique”, he had superb, effortless timing and could play every shot in the book with a lazy, upright grace.
Throughout the 1980s and early 90s those qualities served him well on many continents as a Test player, in domestic first class cricket with Auckland, Central Districts and Wellington in New Zealand, and with Somerset in England, before he retired through injury aged 33.
Along with the great Richard Hadlee, Crowe was a star turn during a profitable era for New Zealand cricket, playing a signifi- cant role in the country’s first Test series win in England in 1986 and, as captain, taking them to the semifinals of the World Cup in 1992.
CRICKET IN BLOOD Crowe’s success appeared assured from the off. His father David had played first class cricket during the 1950s, his mother Audrey was the country’s foremost female cricketer, and his older brother, Jeff, would appear in 39 Tests for his country, many with his sibling. But from a young age it was Martin, born in a suburb of Auckland, who drew most attention.
At 18 he was considered not only the best young batsman in New Zealand but in the world.
Crowe made his Test debut against Australia in Wellington in 1982, and was selected to tour England in 1983. His early experiences of international cricket were fraught, and he did little of significance until scoring exactly 100 against England in Wellington the following year. Thereafter he grew in composure and achievement, and by 1986 had become a key member of the side that beat England 1-0 in a three Test series. Fifteen more Test centuries were to follow – his total of 17 is still higher than any other New Zealander.
The peak of Crowe’s 143match ODI career was the 1992 World Cup, when he captained his side to within a whisker of the finals, scored more runs than anyone else in the tournament, was declared man of the series, and showed himself an imaginative leader whose innovations included opening the bowling with a spinner, Dipak Patel, and introducing pinch-hitters. By 1994 his knees were causing him serious trouble, and by 1996 he was forced to call a halt to any kind of cricket. In all he scored 19,608 first class runs at an average of 56.02, putting him among the all-time elite.