Taker of 818 wickets, New Zealand's oldest cricketer dies at 100

New Delhi: Former New Zealand fast bowler Tom Pritchard passed away at the age of 100 on Tuesday.

He was the oldest cricketer from New Zealand.

Pritchard, who never played international cricket, was one of the stalwarts of English County. He picked up a whopping 818 wickets at an impressive average of 23.30 in 200 first class matches.

The right-arm medium pacer could not ever turn up for the Black caps because of the Second World War. After that he chose to settle down in England to play County cricket. He was chosen for New Zealand’s tour to England in 1959, but he opted out of selection and from then on his international dream never materialized.

Pritchard went on to become one of the finest bowlers for English County side Warwickwshire, claiming 100 wickets in each season from 1948 to 1951.