Geoff Howarth
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey "Geoff" Philip Howarth OBE (born 29 March 1951) is a former New Zealand
cricket
er, who remains the only New Zealand captain to have positive win-loss records in both Test cricket
and ODI cricket. Howarth played some Test cricket with his elder brother, Hedley Howarth
, but most of his 47-Test career did not overlap with Hedley's. He played most of his career as a specialist batsman, captaining the team for 30 of those 47 Tests, and although his batting average
of only 32 was not stunning, he did make six Test centuries. Four of those came while he was not captaining the side. In his debut series as captain, he led the side to their first Test series victory over the West Indies
, when New Zealand won the first Test chasing 104 after being 73 for 8, then drew the second Test thanks to 147 from Howarth, and also survived an evenly-fought third Test. He also became coach for the New Zealand team in the early 1990s and was coach of the ill-fated tour of South Africa
in 1994.
Howarth played for Surrey County Cricket Club
in England for a number of seasons, and in 1984–85 was the only overseas player ever to captain the club.
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, who remains the only New Zealand captain to have positive win-loss records in both Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and ODI cricket. Howarth played some Test cricket with his elder brother, Hedley Howarth
Hedley Howarth
Hedley John Howarth was a former international cricketer who played 30 Tests and nine One Day Internationals for New Zealand. The elder brother of Geoff Howarth, former New Zealand captain, he was born and died in Auckland.-Biography:Howarth was an orthodox left-arm bowler who made his first class...
, but most of his 47-Test career did not overlap with Hedley's. He played most of his career as a specialist batsman, captaining the team for 30 of those 47 Tests, and although his batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of only 32 was not stunning, he did make six Test centuries. Four of those came while he was not captaining the side. In his debut series as captain, he led the side to their first Test series victory over the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
, when New Zealand won the first Test chasing 104 after being 73 for 8, then drew the second Test thanks to 147 from Howarth, and also survived an evenly-fought third Test. He also became coach for the New Zealand team in the early 1990s and was coach of the ill-fated tour of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 1994.
Howarth played for Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
in England for a number of seasons, and in 1984–85 was the only overseas player ever to captain the club.