5 memorable moments from Martin Crowe's career

The cricketing fraternity has suffered a huge loss with the passing away of Martin Crowe at the age of 53. Crowe was a fighter on the field and off it too, as he proved during his prolonged battle against cancer before finally succumbing to it.The former New Zealand skipper was perhaps the greatest batsman to have ever represented his country. Both as a batsman and a captain, Crowe was largely successful in taking his team to newer heights.Widely regarded as one of the best tacticians in the game, he used innovations that had never even been thought of earlier. With more than 5000 Test runs at an average of slightly over 45, Marin Crowe was easily the most prolific Kiwi batsman.Here are 5 memorable moments which highlighted Crowe's glittering career:

#1 The 1992 World Cup

Martin Crowe was the star of the 1992 World Cup

Although Pakistan turned out to be the eventual champions in the 1992 World Cup, it was a tournament which completely belonged to Martin Crowe and the New Zealand side led by him.Two key decisions made by Martin Crowe as captain defined a superb performance by the Kiwis as they made it to the semi-finals.

One of them was to promote big-hitting batsman Mark Greatbatch to the opener's slot to give the innings much-needed impetus right from the start. The other tactic which worked wonders for New Zealand was Crowe asking off-spinner Dipak Patel to open the bowling as it managed to surprise the opposition team.

Martin Crowe was the highest run-scorer in the tournament with 456 runs and grabbed the prestigious 'Man of the Series' award.

#2 299 against Sri Lanka in 1991

Crowe during his epic knock against Sri Lanka (Image Courtesy – martincrowe.com)

Sri Lanka may not have been the cricketing powerhouse that they went on to become later, yet Martin Crowe's 299 against them in a Test at Wellington in 1991 was a memorable one for quite a few reasons.

Firstly, it was then the highest score by any New Zealand batsman in cricketing history and was only broken 23 years later when Brendon McCullum got a triple century against India. It was also the only occasion when a batsman had been dismissed on a score of 299; the only other cricketer to score 299 was the great Donald Bradman, but he remained unbeaten.

Martin Crowe was unlucky not to achieve the 300-run milestone as he went on to be dismissed by his Sri Lankan counterpart Arjuna Ranatunga.

#3 Centuries at the Mecca of Cricket

Crowe flays one to the on-side during his second ton at Lord’s

While iconic cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara never managed to feature on the Lord's Honours board, Martin Crowe achieved the feat twice in his career. He did this by scoring two centuries against home side England at two different stages of his career.

The first of them came in New Zealand's 1986 tour of England when Crowe scored a fighting 106 in the drawn 1st Test of a 3-match series, which New Zealand won 1-0. The legendary Kiwi batsman's second ton at Lord's came in yet another drawn Test between the two teams in the year 1994.

Martin Crowe top-scored with 142 in New Zealand's first innings total of 476. He is still the only New Zealand batsman with 2 centuries at Lord’s.

#4 188 in a memorable Test win over Australia

Martin Crowe scored a brilliant 188 against Australia (Image Courtesy – teara.govt.nz)

New Zealand have enjoyed quite a rivalry with next door neighbours Australia on the cricketing field. Martin Crowe was the architect of one of the most famous Kiwi win over the Aussies in Test cricket.

It was still early years in Crowe's superb career, but he received a superb platform to showcase his prowess thanks to the sensational Richard Hadlee. The iconic bowler's 9-wicket haul blew Australia away for 179 in their first innings, giving his batsmen the luxury of batting without any pressure.

Crowe cashed in on the chance and made a brilliant 188, which set up an emphatic victory for New Zealand by an innings and 41 runs.

#5 Maiden Test century in a match-saving cause

Crowe enjoyed playing against England

Martin Crowe had a baptism by fire at the beginning of his fantastic Test career as he struggled to post even a half-century in his first 7 Tests. However, it was all going to change for him in the 8th Test of his career against England in Wellington.

The year was 1984 as New Zealand and England met in the 1st Test of a 3-match series. The Kiwis could manage only 219 in their first innings while the English amassed 463, taking a huge lead of 244 runs. With pressure mounting on the home side, Martin Crowe produced a terrific century and helped his captain Jeremy Coney flatten England's chances of a win.

Crowe scored exactly 100 off 247 balls in an innings which showed the cricketing world what he was made of.