12 Facts about Glenn Turner: West Indies Kryptonite

Glenn Turner was a nightmare for the West Indies bowlers. It is something strange for the likes of Wes Hall, Michael Holding, and Charlie Griffith to state that it was one New Zealand batsman who was their kryptonite. However, in his short yet illustrious career, Turner has been widely regarded as one of the most prolific batsmen. He has also been regarded as perhaps the best New Zealand batsman in his era with the likes of Martin Crowe looking up to him as an inspiring figure. On his birthday, we take a look at a few facts about Glenn Turner.

1. Born:

Glenn Maitland Turner was born on the 26^th of May 1947 in Dunedin, Otago.

2. An Indian flavor:

Glenn Turner was part of the New Zealand team that toured India in 1976. Although the Kiwis lost to the seasoned Indians and their spin quarter (Bedi-Venkatraghavan-Prasanna-Chandrashekar), it was a good tour for Glenn Turner. He met his wife Sukhinder Kaur Gill in an official function in Mumbai. As recollected by Turner, “I met my wife [Sukhinder Kaur Gill] in Bombay at an official function. And then we courted for three years. That’s a great old term, ‘courting’. And we had to do it quietly, of course, because you would know the difficulties one might have with Indian parents. She was advised by her father that people in the West don’t take marriage seriously.”

3. Runs, runs, and more runs:

Glenn Turner’s professionalism was second to none. As put by Christopher Martin-Jenkins, “In two senses the most professional cricketer ever produced by New Zealand, Glenn Turner made himself a household name throughout the cricket world by dedicating himself to cricket from an early age and making the best possible use of a considerable natural ability. Unswervingly single-minded in his pursuit of runs, unashamedly ambitious and often impatient of amateur administrators in New Zealand, his career with Worcestershire was the key to his success everywhere else.”

4. A text-book technique:

“Almost frail-looking, pale-faced and serious-minded, Turner was an immaculately straight-playing opener, who defended with a solidity of technique few contemporaries matched. Although limited in his early days, he eventually played every shot on demand, and scored as fast as anyone when necessary.” – Christopher Martin-Jenkins

5. West Indies Kryptonite:

Interestingly, the fearsome West Indian pace attacks always brought the best out of Glenn Turner. Facing the likes of Wes Hall, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, and Charlie Griffith was something of an enjoyment for him. He averaged 66 in 8 innings against the West Indies.

6. The patience game:

In the 1975 World Cup, Turner played the longest innings in terms of balls faced when the Kiwis faced the East Africans in a World Cup encounter. He smashed 171 off 201 deliveries.

7. Highest percentage of runs in a completed innings:

He also holds the record for highest percentage of runs scored in any completed innings 83.43% after he scored 141* out of Worcestershire’s 169 against Glamorgan at Swansea in 1977. The remaining batsmen scored 27, highest 7 and there was one extra.

8. Driving into the sunset:

His most characteristic shots were the off-drive and a beautifully-timed drive to midwicket with the face of the bat turned on impact.

9. The hard-nosed in Guyana:

New Zealand’s tour of the West Indies in 1971-72 came to a standstill in Guyana. He joined Terry Jarvis as they smashed an audacious 387-run opening stand. Turner smashed 259 of those runs as the match was eventually drawn. Turner showed impeccable guts as he faced up to the likes of Vanburn Holder and Gary Sobers.

10. A hundred in double time:

He also became the first New Zealander to score two hundred in a Test, in Christchurch in 1973-74, when New Zealand beat Australia for the first time.

11. A century of centuries:

In 455 First class matches, Turner played, he smashed 103 centuries, making him one of the rare few players with a ‘century of centuries’ to his name.

12. The luck of the Worcestershire:

Turner has the record of scoring centuries against all English county sides. He boasts of centuries against 17 county teams. The only team he didn’t score a century was the one he played for.