Gavin Larsen: The postman who always delivered

Gavin Larsen bowls during the 1999 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan – his last game before retiring. (Getty Images)

For someone who was NZ’s go-to man in limited-overs cricket, Larsen ended up playing only eight Test matches. Perhaps it was the difference in the type of ball used that blunted his effectiveness, or maybe the Kiwi selectors viewed his game to be suited for 100-over matches. A pity, given that Richard Hadlee’s successors in the longer format didn’t arrive until much later; he would have been more than a handful in white flannels too.

Outside New Zealand, though, Larsen’s economy rate suffered, but he was still quite miserly. Along with Harris, he kept the slow-medium flag fluttering high for a few more years. On subcontinent pitches, he was told that his style of bowling wouldn’t be as effective because there was more turn and very little seam prevalent in those days. Yet he did reasonably well in his trips to India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan during the 1996 World Cup.

By 1999, though, new winds were blowing in the cricket world. New Zealand focused on making their pitches fast, hard and with more bounce, essentially trying to re-work their strategy to assist their fast bowlers. A new generation of slow bowlers was rising; ones who would pitch the ball in the right areas and then wait for the track to do the rest.

In addition, Larsen’s accuracy had been reduced a considerable bit, as batsmen now preferred to charge down the wicket to counter his deliveries. At 37, the old fox had been hampered by recurring back spasms, and his reflexes, although still refined, slowed him down.

Nevertheless, he became one of the few bowlers to have claimed the prized scalp of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar as his hundredth wicket in ODIs, though it took him over five thousand deliveries to reach the landmark; he also became the second oldest player to do so.

He finally bid farewell to the game in October 1999, having played a substantial role in steering the Kiwis to the semi-finals of the World Cup in June the same year – his last ODI.

And with the Postman gone, the era of the dibbly-dobblies eventually came to an end.

He kept himself fit by playing in and around various areas of Wellington, and eventually became the CEO of Cricket Wellington. Notably, he opposed the selection of England seamer James Anderson to the Auckland team prior to the Test series against NZ in early 2008, evoking mixed reactions.

His son Corey has shown promise as a batsman, plying his trade for the Onslow Cricket Club in Wellington.

The world considers the likes of Jesse Ryder to be ‘descendants’ of that bygone era, but he is just one of the many pretenders to the throne vacated by Larsen fourteen years ago. Even part-timers Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan could only be considered as stand-ins, but never the real deal.

Competitive on the field, and extremely professional both on and off it, Larsen would certainly have enjoyed playing Twenty20 cricket, but for now, he is happy handling the administrative side of the game that he gave fifteen years of his life to.