Legendary Cricketer

Former test-cricketer and left-arm spinner Aucklander Hedley Howarth has died, aged 64. Howarth claimed 86 wickets in 30 tests for New Zealand between 1969 and 1974, retiring from test cricket in 1977. He was the hard-working hub of the New Zealand bowling attack in the early 1970s, able to sustain long spells while posing an attacking threat with his accuracy and subtle variations of flight. New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan said that while Howarth would be remembered as one of the country’s most prominent left-arm slow bowlers, he was also highly respected for his work off the field. “Hedley has a significant place in our international cricket history – his five-wicket bag against India at Nagpur in 1969 was a match-winner that helped give New Zealand its first ever test win on the sub-continent,” Vaughan said. Howarth’s brother Geoff was later New Zealand’s test captain.

Hedley Howarth: 25 December 1943 – 7 November 2008