Martin Horton
Encyclopedia
Martin John Horton was an English
cricket
er, 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
.
Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted that Horton was, "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
...".
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. 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 1966, Horton moved to New Zealand
and played four seasons of cricket with Northern Districts before becoming the national team's
coach, a position he maintained for seventeen seasons. He remained there until 1983, when he returned to Worcester 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.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, who played in two Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in 1959. He was born in Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and played the bulk of his first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
for his native county
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
.
Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted that Horton was, "a versatile all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
who could bat anywhere in the top six and who twice took more than 100 wickets in a season with his off-spin
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
...".
Life and career
Horton made his debut for WorcestershireWorcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
in 1952, and was an integral part of the side which won the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
in 1964 (for the first time in the county's history) and 1965. 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
Double (cricket)
A cricketer is said to achieve the double if he scores a thousand or more runs and also takes a hundred or more wickets in first-class matches during the course of a single season. The feat is extremely rare outside England because of the smaller number of first-class matches played in most other...
in 1955 and 1961, and he took 9 for 56 against the 1955 South Africans
South African cricket team in England in 1955
The South African cricket team toured England in the 1955 season to play a five-match Test series against England.England won the series 3-2 with no matches drawn.-South African team:...
. In nearly two decades of cricket, he took 825 first-class wickets in all and scored 23 centuries with the bat.
In 1966, Horton moved to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and played four seasons of cricket with Northern Districts before becoming the national team's
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
coach, a position he maintained for seventeen seasons. He remained there until 1983, when he returned to Worcester 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.