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New Zealand
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New Zealand
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NZ
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Ewen Chatfield
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Cricket_no_picpng
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Right-hand bat
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Right-arm medium-fast
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true
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43
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180
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857
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-/-
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21
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10360
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123
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3217
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3
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1
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6/73
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7/-
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114
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118
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1072
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-/-
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19
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6065
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140
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2584
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1
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-
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5/34
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19/-
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4 February
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2006
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(b.
3 July ,
1950 in
Dannevirke ) was a cricketer who played 43
Tests and 114
One-day International s for
New Zealand . A medium-pace bowler, his chief weapon was his unerring accuracy, giving him very economical bowling figures, although he occasionally would come in for punishment in the late stages of limited overs matches due to a lack of variation in his line and length.
Chatfield is possibly best remembered for nearly being killed on the cricket field, in a Test match against
England in the 1974/5 season. England were at the end of a long and difficult tour in which they had been defeated in the
The Ashes by
Australia , chiefly by the Australian fast bowlers
Jeff Thomson and
Dennis Lillee . Chatfield, a genuine number 11 batsman, was holding up England with a stoic last wicket partnership with his future captain,
Geoff Howarth . English fast bowler
Peter Lever decided to test Chatfield with a bouncer. At the time helmets and other now common protective gear were not in use (which had caused much suffering of the English at the hands of Lillee and Thomson). The ball struck Chatfield flush on the temple, rendering him unconscious and not breathing. Watching English physiotherapist
Bernard Thomas was the first to realise what had happened: Chatfield had swallowed his tongue. He flicked it back into place and managed to revive Chatfield with a heart massage. Lever was distraught and Chatfield later joked that when he was visited by Lever in hospital, 'he looked worse than I did'. A couple of years later helmets were introduced into cricket and Chatfield wore one thereafter. Another legacy of the incident was that Chatfield himself never bowled a bouncer in the rest of his career.
Chatfield became something of an ironic hero to home crowds with his batting, which usually consisted of an optimistic forward defensive stroke (delivered irrespective of the line or length of the ball) but not much else. He did, however, accompany Wellington team mate
Jeremy Coney on a famous partnership to defeat
Pakistan in a 1984/85 Test series. It was technically not a last wicket win, as
Lance Cairns was still available to bat, but Cairns was severely concussed at the time and essentially incapable of batting, making Chatfield his side's last hope for a series win. Chatfield managed his highest Test score, an unbeaten 21. Such was Coney's faith in his partner that Chatfield ended up facing 84 deliveries during their stand as opposed to Coney's 48.
With the ball, Chatfield probably best distinguished himself with more than worthy efforts against the
West Indies , the leading cricketing side of the day, on tour in 1984/85 and in the home series which New Zealand drew, against all predictions, in 1986/87. He was also a member of the New Zealand sides which achieved the country's first Test series wins against England and Australia at home and away, feats rarely achieved since (in fact New Zealand has never won another Test series in Australia).
- http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/249420.html
- Cricinfo bio: http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/columns/content/player/36603.html
