Martin Horton
FullnameMartin John Horton
Birth date21 April 1934
Birth placeWorcester, England
Death date3 April 2011 (aged 76)
Death placeWorcester, England
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm offbreak
Columns2
Column 1Test
Matches 12
Runs 160
Bat avg 130.00
100s/50s 10/1
Top score 158
Deliveries 1238
Wickets 12
Bowl avg 129.50
Fivefor 10
Tenfor 10
Best bowling 12/24
Catches/stumpings 12/–
Column 2First-class
Matches 2410
Runs 219,945
Bat avg 229.54
100s/50s 223/112
Top score 2233
Deliveries 254,352
Wickets 2825
Bowl avg 226.94
Fivefor 240
Tenfor 27
Best bowling 29/56
Catches/stumpings 2166/–
Internationaltrue
CountryEngland
TestdebutagainstIndia
Testdebutdate4 June
Testdebutyear1959
Lasttestdate18 June
LasttestagainstIndia
Lasttestyear1959
Sourcehttp://content-aus.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/14273.html CricInfo
Date7 November
Year2022

Martin John Horton (21 April 1934[1] – 3 April 2011) was an English cricketer, who played in two Tests in 1959. He was born in Worcester, England, and played the bulk of his first-class cricket for his native county. After his career in England, he became New Zealand's first national cricket coach.

The cricket writer Colin Bateman described Horton as "a versatile all-rounder who could bat anywhere in the top six and who twice took more than 100 wickets in a season with his off-spin...".[1]

Life and career

Horton made his debut for Worcestershire in 1952, and was an integral part of the side which won the County Championship in 1964 (for the first time in the county's history) and 1965.[1] He passed 1,000 runs in a season on 11 occasions, scoring 2,468 runs in 1959, the year he won his two Test caps. He scored a half century against India in his first Test and took 2 for 24 in his second. He was dropped from the side, never to return. He achieved the double in 1955 and 1961, and he took 9 for 56 against the 1955 South Africans. In nearly two decades of cricket, he took 825 first-class wickets in all and scored 23 centuries with the bat.

In late 1966, Horton moved to New Zealand to begin a five-year contract as the national team's coach,[2] a position he eventually held for seventeen seasons. He also played four seasons in the Plunket Shield with Northern Districts from 1967–68 to 1970–71.[3] He returned to England in 1983 to become cricket coach at the Royal Grammar School, a post he held until 1996. He also became chairman of Worcestershire County Cricket Club.

Horton died following a long illness in April 2011.[4]

References

Notes
  1. ^ Bateman, Colin (1993). If The Cap Fits. Tony Williams Publications. p. 91. ISBN 1-869833-21-X.
  2. ^ "N.Z. Cricket Coach: Horton is Appointed". Press. 19 October 1966.
  3. ^ Wisden 2012, pp. 200–1.
  4. ^ Williamson, Martin. "Former England allrounder Martin Horton dies". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
Sources