Martin Crowe Retires (16 January 1996)
WHILE the New Zealand and Zimbabwe teams continued the rain dance disguised as the first Test yesterday the real news was coming from 1,000 miles away where Martin Crowe, who has dominated the game in New Zealand for 15 years, was announcing his
16-Jan-1996
Electronic Telegraph Tuesday 16 January 1996
Crowe`s retirement overshadows rain dance
By Don Cameron in Hamilton
WHILE the New Zealand and Zimbabwe teams continued the rain dance
disguised as the first Test yesterday the real news was coming
from 1,000 miles away where Martin Crowe, who has dominated the
game in New Zealand for 15 years, was announcing his retirement.
Crowe, 33, has been grievously hampered for the last three years
by serious wear and tear to his right knee joint.
He scored three centuries for New Zealand in India late last year
but by the end of the tour Crowe`s knee was as bad and as painful
as it had ever been.
Crowe was offered yet another lifeline. If he could regain fitness in the six weeks to the middle of January he would be picked
for the home one-day internationals against Zimbabwe and then for
the World Cup. If still fit Crowe would then have gone to West
Indies for the March-May tour.
For weeks he went through the familiar rehabilitation work which
had worked in the past. This time the strain and the pain
remained.
Crowe announced his retirement from first-class and Test cricket
last night after being advised his injury would worsen if he continued to try and play competitive sport and that, with all the
modern demands on fitness, his future ability to walk comfortably
would be at risk.
In his 15 years Crowe played close to 250 games. He scored just
under 20,000 runs, including 71 centuries, with New Zealand teams
and with Somerset at an average of 56. Seventy-seven Tests
brought him 17 centuries - and his main playing disappointment.
Crowe had decided that for him to rate among the best batsmen he
would need a qualifying ticket of 20 Test centuries.
He also had the rare ambition of scoring a Test century against
all the Test-playing countries but in South Africa 14 months ago
he could not get that last hundred.
There is no one of Crowe`s class in this present Test match.
Yes- terday Hamilton`s awful weather allowed four hours play
on the third day before thunder and lightning sent everyone home.
Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http: www.telegraph.co.uk)