Former fast bowler Dick Motz dies

The former fast bowler Dick Motz, the first New Zealander to take 100 wickets in Tests, died on Sunday aged 67. Graham Dowling, his former national captain, found Motz's body when he visited his home in Christchurch.

"He was a great fast bowler who never knew when to stop," Dowling told NZPA. "Although he had back trouble, he kept on going. Sometimes in first-class games after he came off the field at a break, I'd jump on his back and he'd get going again."

Dowling said he had spoken to Motz on Friday, and he had seemed in good spirits.

Motz, who was also a hard-hitting lower-order batsman, played 32 Tests from 1961 to 1969. In 1968 he became the first Test bowler in the history of cricket to be banned from bowling because of running on the pitch. He took his 100th wicket, with Philip Sharpe his victim, against England at The Oval in 1969, but retired at the end of the tour due to a displaced vertebra.

Motz took five wickets in an innings five times in Tests and scored three half-centuries, all against England. Despite his efforts, New Zealand won only four of the 32 Tests in which he played. He was one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 1966.