The class of '69

When they beat India by 167 runs at Nagpur in October of that year, it was New Zealand's first win in India and only the country's sixth win ever. Consider that New Zealand have won just once more in that most passionate of cricket nations and you get an idea of the scale of their achievement. Sadly, one of the key figures in that win, left-arm spinner Hedley Howarth, who took nine for 100 in the match, was not there. He died last November. Neither were other notable players, Dick Motz, Bob Cunis and Ken Wadsworth, who have also passed away. A few weeks after Nagpur, this group won for the first time in Pakistan, beating their hosts by five wickets at Lahore. When they defiantly drew the final test on a dramatic last day at Dacca, it was New Zealand's first series victory overseas.