As India began the first Test against New Zealand at Kanpur, everyone was celebrating the fact that this was India’s 500th Test. But New Zealand had a different occasion to observe. September 22 was also the day Kiwi legend Martin Crowe was born.
A prolific right-hand batsman, he was born in Auckland into a cricketing family with his father and brother aiming to be cricketers. Father Dave Crowe played first-class cricket for Canterbury and Wellington. He was a left-handed opening batsman and a leg-spinner. M
Martin's brother Jeff Crowe enjoyed more success compared to the father. Jeff represented New Zealand in 39 Test matches and 75 One-Day Internationals.
Martin, he made an impressive first-class debut for Auckland at the age of 17, scoring 51 against Canterbury. He went on to score 19,608 first-class runs at an average of 56.02.
Making his Test debut against Australia in 1982, he played 77 Test matches for New Zealand and scored 5,444 runs. He also made his One-Day international debut against Australia in the same series. He played 143 ODIs and smashed 4,704 runs.
Martin Crowe was a part-time bowler as well, taking 14 Test wickets and 29 ODI wickets. He was named player of the tournament during the World Cup in 1992, where he scored 456 runs. He played his last Test match and ODI against India in 1995.
At the age of 48, 15 years after retirement, Crowe decided to return to first-class cricket and took to the crease once again. However, his comeback lasted for all of three balls, as he had to retire with an injury.
Diagnosed with terminal Lymphoma in September 2014, Martin Crowe died in Auckland on March 3, 2016. He was just 53.
The videos above and below capture the highlights of some of the best innings Martin Crowe played against various oppositions.
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