Former NZ offspinner Peter Petherick dies aged 72

Published 06/08/2015, 7:38 AM EDT

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Former New Zealand offspinner Peter Petherick, who became the first bowler from New Zealand to take a hat-trick in Tests, has passed away in Perth at the age of 72.

Petherick and James Franklin are the only bowlers to have taken a hat-trick for New Zealand in Tests. Further, Petherick is one of the only three bowlers along with Maurice Allom and Damien Fleming to have taken a hat-trick on Test debut. He did this against Pakistan in 1976 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, when he scalped Javed Miandad (who was also on a debut), Wasim Raja and Intikhab Alam. However, his match haul of five wickets could not ensure his team a victory – New Zealand lost by six wickets.

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He made his Test debut at the age of 34 and played six matches for his national side, taking 16 wickets at an average of 42.56.

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His hat-trick on debut is not the only fascinating part of his story; he was working as a mechanic when he got a call-up to play for Otago in 1975-76. His first season saw him taking 42 first-class wickets at an average of 20.16, which included his first-class best of 9 for 93 in an innings.

Former team-mate and New Zealand wicketkeeper Warren Lees told the Dominion Post, “Most of his bowling was flight and guile and he had a wee bit of outswing with his slower arm ball.”

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“There was minimal effort in his run-up, it was a three-metre shuffle to the wicket.”

After retirement from cricket, Petherick became a lawn bowls player.

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Written by:

Ishaan Gupta

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