Tour of West Indies 1984-85              Captain : Geoff Howarth

19th official Test tour.

Second Test-playing  tour of West Indies by New Zealand

 (March - May 1985)

The Kiwis were due in the Caribbean in 1982 but the trip was cancelled because of the controversial South African rugby union series against the All Blacks.

In the final Test the New Zealand captain Geoff Howarth accused the West Indians of bowling at the batsmen's bodies, after Coney's arm was broken by a ball from Garner.

All New Zealand tours

Previous tour

Pakistan 1984-85

Next tour

Australia 1985-86

Next tour of West Indies

1995-96

Members of the Test tour party (15)

Opening batsmen  John Wright

Middle-order batsmen Geoff Howarth, Jeff Crowe, Martin Crowe, Jermey Coney, Ken Rutherford

Wicket-keepers:  Ian Smith, Robbie Hart

All rounder:  Lance Cairns

Spin bowlers: Stephen Boock, John Bracewell.

Fast bowlers: Richard Hadlee, Ewen Chatfield, Derek Stirling, Gary Troup.

Provincial representation

A - Auckland (3)

C - Canterbury (2)

CD - Central Districts (4)

ND - Northern Districts (2)

O - Otago (2)

W - Wellington (2)

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

(29 March 1985) :  29 yrs  1 month.

Test Appearances made before the tour

Hadlee 53,  Howarth 43,  Cairns 40,  Wright 37,  Coney 36,  Chatfield 23,  Boock 22,  Smith 21,  M Crowe 19,  J Crowe 16,  Bracewell 12,  Troup 12,  Stirling 3,  Hart 0,  Rutherford 0.

Team Officials

Selectors

Frank Cameron (convenor),  John Guy,  Don Neely.

Selection

Unavailable  : Bruce Edgar 

Tour Party Announced  :

Withdrawal:   On 26 February John F Reid pulled out of the tour, mentioning the unacceptable demands of modern day cricket on his family life and teaching career.

Not selected:  The last place was between Ewen Chatfield and Martin Snedden.

Time between selection and departure from New Zealand

  x days

(selection to 11 March)

Travel

On 11 March 1985 the team flew from Auckland to Kingston, Jamaica, by way of Los Angeles, Miami and Montego Bay. They arrived on Wednesday 13 March.

Time spent in West Indies     x days

(13 March - depart Host)

On-tour selection panel

Geoff Howarth,  Jeremy Coney,  Frank Cameron.

Reinforcements

None despite two players (Lance Cairns suffering from dizzy spells, and Robbie Hart whose mother died) returning home early.

Martin Crowe suffering from a back strain throughout the tour, was not able to bowl until the last two matches

Fixtures/Results

† not first-class

§  one-day international

Time spent in West Indies before First Test: 

16 days

(13 March- 29 March)

Test appearances on tour

4  -  Chatfield,  Coney,  Martin Crowe,  Jeff Crowe,  Hadlee,  Howarth,  Rutherford,  Smith,  Wright.

3  -  Boock

2  -  Cairns.

1  -  Bracewell,  Stirling,  Troup.

0  -  Hart.

Highlights

•   Ewan Chatfield took 4-51 and 6-73 in the first Test at Port of Spain

•   John Wright and Jeff Crowe added 109 in a 2nd wicket partnership in the opening Test

•   Martin Crowe took seven hours to reach his Test century at Bourda but then went on to 188 in two hours more

•   Jeremy Coney (73) added 142 for the fifth wicket with Crowe

•   In the final Test at Kingston Geoff Howarth (84) and Jeff Crowe (112) together made a stand of 210 for the second wicket. This was the New Zealand record against any country

•   Richard Hadlee with 15 wickets at 27 in the series was New Zealand’s most attacking bowler.

Tour Summary

Return to New Zealand

The last match ended on 8 May 1985.

Time away from New Zealand    x days  

(11 March to arrive home NZ)

Finances

Cable and Wireless sponsored the four-match Test series to the tune of US $ 100,000

Benson and Hedges was the sponsor of recent cricket tours of the Caribbean but had withdrawn its sponsorship.

Written accounts of the tour