Arguably the greatest batter New Zealand has produced, Martin Crowe was born on this day (September 22) in 1962. Despite battling a spate of injuries during his 13-year international career from 1982 to 1995, the Auckland-born cricketer managed to break several batting records. Considered one of the Black Caps’ finest and most fearless captains, Crowe’s batting prowess was an adornment to his captaincy brilliance.
Hailing from a cricketing family, Crowe stunned everyone with his superiority on the field from the early days of his career. His father Dave Crowe played first-class cricket for Canterbury and Wellington. His elder brother Jeff Crowe has represented New Zealand in 39 Tests and 75 ODIs and has been a well-known international match referee since 2004. Crowe, who made his Test debut at the young age of 19 against Australia in 1982, carried on his family’s legacy.
In a career spanning 77 Tests, Crowe has scored 5444 runs at an average of 45.36, including 17 centuries and one double hundred. The right-handed batter missed out on an opportunity to score the first triple hundred for his country by just 1 run. His brilliant 299 against Sri Lanka was the record for the highest Test score by a Kiwi batter before Brendon McCullum’s 302 against India in the second Test in Wellington in 2014.
1992 WC semi-final loss to Pakistan – Crowe’s biggest regret
Crowe’s ODI career was also decorated with 4704 runs in 140 innings at an average of 38.34. He has smashed four centuries and 34 half-centuries in the 50-over format. With 456 runs at an average of 114 from nine matches, the Auckland cricketer was the best batter of the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Crowe, who finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer, led New Zealand to the semi-finals. But Crowe and Co. had a heartbreaking exit as they lost to champions Pakistan in the last four.
Crowe played his last Test and ODI in November 1995, and after his retirement, he spent his time commentating and writing about the game, with brief involvement in team management. However, in 2011, at the age of 49, he decided to make a surprise comeback as a player, but his second career spell lasted just three balls when he retired hurt. He succumbed to cancer at the age of 53 in 2016. In recognition of his glorious career, Crowe was inducted into the Cricket Governing Body’s Hall of Fame in 2015.