Hedley John Howarth (25 December 1943 – 7 November 2008) was an international

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played 30

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

and nine

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

s for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The elder brother of

Geoff Howarth Geoffrey Philip Howarth (born 29 March 1951) is a former New Zealand cricketer and former captain, who remains the only New Zealand captain to have positive win–loss records in both Test cricket and ODI cricket. He was the third most success ...

, former New Zealand captain, he was born and died in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Domestic career

Howarth attended

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, where he was a pace bowler. After he left school he had back trouble, and his coach,

Merv Wallace Walter Mervyn Wallace (19 December 1916 – 21 March 2008) was a New Zealand cricketer and former Test match captain. Former New Zealand captain John Reid called him "the most under-rated cricketer to have worn the silver fern." He was nickn ...

, suggested he take up spin bowling. He became an orthodox left-arm bowler, and made his first-class debut in 1962.

International career

Between 1969 and 1977, Howarth played 30

for New Zealand, capturing 86 wickets at an average of 36.95.

Justin Vaughan Justin Thomas Caldwell Vaughan (born 30 August 1967) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played six Test matches and 18 One Day Internationals between 1992 and 1997. He is a doctor of medicine by profession. Life and career Vaughan was an al ...

, chief executive of

New Zealand Cricket New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New Z ...

, credited Howarth with playing a significant role in New Zealand's international cricket history, saying Howarth's "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". India were chasing 277 in the fourth innings but Howarth's 5 for 34 gave New Zealand the advantage, highlighted by a catch off his own bowling, leading to a 167-run win. Howarth's other five-wicket haul came a few weeks later in a Test against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

, when he picked up 5 for 80. Howarth holds the New Zealand record for the most overs bowled in a Test innings. He bowled 74 overs, 24 maidens, and took 2 wickets for 138 runs against the West Indies in Bridgetown in 1972. Howarth was a part of the

New Zealand national cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Named the Black Caps, they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. From 1930 ...

that played in the

1975 Cricket World Cup The 1975 Cricket World Cup (officially called the Prudential Cup '75) was the inaugural men's Cricket World Cup, and the first major tournament in the history of One Day International (ODI) cricket. Organised by the International Cricket Confer ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, making it to the tournament semi-finals. Howarth played his last Test in February 1977 and announced his retirement from Test cricket shortly afterwards.Staff
"Former New Zealand cricketer dies"
''

Television New Zealand , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Solom ...

'', 8 November 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2008. He continued playing first-class cricket until 1979. After retiring, he devoted his time to his family's fishing business, Kia Ora Fisheries, later Kia Ora Seafoods.Obituary in ''Dominion Post'', 13 November 2008 page B3

Death

Howarth died at age 64 on 7 November 2008. A cause of death was not initially disclosed, though Howarth had been battling

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

for some time.Cleaver, Dylan
"Balanced spinner with a lot of guts"
''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'', 9 November 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howarth, Hedley 1943 births 2008 deaths People educated at Auckland Grammar School Auckland cricketers New Zealand One Day International cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand cricketers Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup North Island cricketers