Gavin Larsen

Gavin Larsen

Personal information
Full name	Gavin Rolf Larsen
Born	27 September 1962 (1962-09-27) (age 63) Wellington, New Zealand
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	New Zealand (1990–1999)
Test debut(cap  190)	2 June 1994 v  England
Last Test	27 April 1996 v  West Indies
ODI debut(cap  64)	1 March 1990 v  India
Last ODI	16 June 1999 v  Pakistan
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 8 121 103 229 Runs scored 127 629 3,491 1,981 Batting average 14.11 14.62 28.61 18.17 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 2/17 0/2 Top score 26* 37 161 66 Balls bowled 1,967 6,368 12,765 12,061 Wickets 24 113 156 227 Bowling average 28.70 35.39 29.62 30.31 5 wickets in innings 0 0 5 1 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0 Best bowling 3/57 4/24 6/37 5/30 Catches/stumpings 5/– 23/– 70/0 59/9
Source: Cricinfo, 4 May 2017

Gavin Rolf Larsen (born 27 September 1962) is a former New Zealand international cricketer who specialised in the art of economical bowling. He was known playfully by his teammates as "The Postman". He is currently chief selector for the national side.

Domestic career

Unusually for a New Zealand player, he played his entire first-class career with one team, Wellington. He also captained the side in the 1994 Australasian Cup in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, where New Zealand reached the semi-finals of a six-team tournament.

His nickname of "The Postman" came about as a compliment:

"John Graham, New Zealand's team manager during much of his career, explained the nickname in the foreword to Larsen's book Grand Larseny (yes, really): "He is the consummate professional, committed, conscientious, competitive and consistent. His nickname of 'The Postman' sums him up well, he always delivers!"" ^[1]

International career

Larsen finished his career with an exceptional economy rate in ODI cricket of 3.76 – the norm at the time was usually somewhere between 4 and 4.50 – in his 121 ODIs, stretching over a ten-year span.

He also played eight Tests with reasonable success, taking 24 wickets. However, as a useful batsman and handy bowler, he held a place in the one-day side and played a major part in New Zealand reaching the semi-final stage of the 1999 Cricket World Cup.

Larsen earned his 100th ODI wicket in his home-town of Wellington, claiming the prize scalp of Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

Larsen retired from international cricket in October 1999, aged 37. He was suffering from arthritis and had recurring injuries which forced to him to retire at that stage. He ended his career having played a total of 121 ODIs and eight Tests. ^[2]

After cricket

Larsen was formerly chief executive of Cricket Wellington, leaving the post in October 2011 after four years. ^[3] He was appointed on 8 July 2015 as a selector of the New Zealand cricket team. ^[4] Larsen quit as a selector in March 2023 and was appointed as performance director at Warwickshire. ^{[5] [6]} He held the role for two seasons until resigning in November 2024. ^{[7] [8]}

References

1. Lynch, Steven (11 June 2013). "Guptill's record, and Tendulkar's ton at Lord's". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
2. "Arthritis forces Gavin Larsen to retire". Rediff.com. 12 October 1999. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
3. Millmow, Jonathan (20 October 2011). "Gavin Larsen will still feel the heat". Stuff. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
4. "Gavin Larsen appointed New Zealand selector". ESPNcricinfo. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
5. "Gavin Larsen: Warwickshire appoint New Zealand selector as performance director". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
6. "Gavin Larsen to step down as New Zealand selector". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
7. "Larsen quits as Warwickshire performance director". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
8. "Bears Performance Director Larsen leaves Warwickshire". edgbaston.com. Retrieved 29 November 2024.

External links

• Gavin Larsen  at ESPNcricinfo