Mumbai: Martin Crowe, an avant-garde among his generation of cricketers, breathed his last on Thursday. At 53, the New Zealand batting great lost the battle to lymphoma. Crowe, an inspiration to young cricketers, motivated the batch led by Mohammad Azharuddin during his last series in India in 1995.
“When you see that kind of a person playing in front of you from behind the stumps, it is a dream feeling. You dream to play alongside such legends,” said Nayan Mongia, the then wicketkeeper of India.
Mongia stumped the right-hander off Aashish Kapoor’s bowling in his last One Day International (ODI) in Nagpur. Crowe made 63 off 62 and India lost the match by 99 runs.
“He will also be remembered for his effort during the World Cup in 1992. He batted brilliantly (456 runs) and applied innovative tactics. He opened the bowling with off-spinner Dipak Patel,” added Mongia.
Former India spinner Anil Kumble, who claimed his 100th Test wicket – that of Crowe – during the bilateral series, said he often interacted with Hogan (fondly called).
“He was a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore (as chief cricketing officer) in the first season of IPL and I was with him in the MCC cricket committee,” recalled the 45-year-old.
“On the field, it was wonderful to bowl to him and he also happens to be my 100th Test wicket in Bengaluru,” he asserted.
“His intellect, acumen and forward thinking will be missed. All those moments come back when you sit back and recall. It is nice to have the memories. It is tragic that he lost the battle to cancer,” added Kumble.
Crowe scored 5,444 runs in Tests (17 hundreds and 18 half-centuries) and 4,704 in the ODI format (four hundreds and 34 half-centuries).
The Basin Reserve cricket ground in Wellington — where the legend slammed 299 (his highest in Tests) – carried only one message on the scoreboard today. “RIP Martin Crowe”.
