Tribute to Wayne Larkins - Sutherland 1st Grade Player #82
Sutherland District Cricket Club | June 29, 2025
We received sad news early this morning that Wayne Larkins had passed away aged 71, after a brief illness. This is part of the obituary that we have posted on the Sutherland website tonight:
It is with sad regret that we advise of the passing of Wayne Larkins, former England player and Sutherland 1st Grade Player #82, at the age of 71 on 28 June after a short illness. Wayne played 7 matches in 1st Grade in 1978-79 and 1979-80, scoring 420 runs at an average of 46.67, with a highest score of 104. He played a significant role in the five matches he played in 1978-79, playing a significant role in our charge to the semi-finals. Unfortunately he had to return to England after the last round, thus missing the semi-final. In those five matches, he scored 34 (6 x 4) vs UNSW (won), 63 (5 x 4 & 2 x 6) vs Manly (lost), 29 (5 x 4) vs Sydney (drew), 31 (5 x 4 & 1 x 6) & 72 (13 x 4 & 1 x 6) vs Mosman (won outright) and 46 (3 x 4) vs Penrith (won outright) – a total of 275 runs at 45.5. Brian O’Dowd wrote in his 1st Grade report “The batting was bolstered by the inclusion of a congenial Englishman Wayne Larkins after Christmas. He handed in some match winning performances, underlining his class.”
Andrew Hilditch & Wayne Larkins going out to start the innings in Wayne’s Sutherland debut at Caringbah Oval
The committee report included this regarding Wayne:
“During the season, the club was granted the services of young Northamptonshire player Wayne Larkins for the second half of our season. Wayne was on a Whitbread Scholarship which is made available to several promising young England cricketers every year.
Wayne impressed us all with his potential as a future England batsman and has recently been selected in the England squad for the World Cup series.
Our guest proved to be a respected member of the club and all who came in contact with him appreciated his friendship. We look forward to the opportunity of meeting him again and hope that one day he will again play for Sutherland.
The club is indebted to Geoff Glover for providing Wayne with accommodation and to the many offers of assistance to provide accommodation and airfares to provide us with Wayne’s services in the future.”
In the 1979 English season, Wayne had a consistent season, scoring 1079 runs in first class cricket at 41.50 including 3 centuries and 717 runs in one-day matches at 37.73. As mentioned above, he was in the England squad for the World Cup, making his ODI debut in their semi-final win over New Zealand and then being part of the final when West Indies easily beat England. He was selected in the England squad to tour Australia after the truce between the cricket establishment and World Series Cricket. After scoring 90 in the second innings of the tour match against NSW (which included John Dyson, Andrew Hilditch & Steve Rixon), he was selected to make his Test debut in the 3rd Test against Australia at the MCG. He scored 25 & 3 in England’s loss by 8 wickets (dismissed in both innings by Len Pascoe). After that match, England travelled to India to play a Test to celebrate the BCCI’s Golden Jubilee. Wayne played in that match, which England won easily by 10 wickets. He then returned to Sydney with his new wife for a honeymoon, playing the last two matches of the season with Sutherland.
The committee report for 1979-80 included this commentary about Wayne:
“Following his successful stint with the Club last season, it was very pleasing to see Wayne represent England in the World Cup finals in England and to be subsequently selected in the side that toured Australia in the season just ended. In last year’s report, it was written that “Wayne impressed us all with his potential as a future England batsman”. It did not take him much time to fulfill that prediction. It was a great moment for us, as well as Wayne, when he made his Test debut in the 3rd Test in Melbourne, thus becoming another Sutherland Test cricketer.
After England had played the Jubilee Test in India, Wayne returned to Australia, along with his wife Jane, for a holiday. During this time, we were delighted that Wayne agreed to play the last two games with us. He wasted no time in continuing where he left off last season, scoring a fine century against Gordon and in the process, establishing a new 1st Grade opening partnership record with Andy Hilditch. Once again, we look forward to having Wayne back with the Club and to seeing him and his wife.
The Club extends its thanks to Geoff Glover and Lindsay Joyce for organising for Wayne to play with us, and to Lindsay and his wife Susie for providing Wayne and Jane with accommodation. We are also grateful to Tynan Motors for providing the Larkins with a car to use during their stay.”
Wayne went on to play 13 Tests for England, scoring 493 runs at 20.54 with a highest score of 64. He also played 25 ODIs, scoring 591 runs at 24.62 with a highest score of 124 against Australia in Hyderabad in October 1989. In all first class cricket, he played 482 matches and scored 27,142 runs at an average of 34.44, with 59 centuries including a highest score of 252. In all List A cricket, he played 485 matches, scoring 13,594 runs at 30.75, with 26 centuries including a highest score of 172no.
We extend our sincere condolences to Wayne’s family and friends for their sad loss.
Wayne’s highest List A score of 172no was scored in a John Player League match against Warwickshire at Luton on 19 June 1983. It broke the record for the highest score in the John Player League (a 40-over competition that used to be played on Sunday afternoons), a match that I happened to be at. I had travelled to England to follow the Australian team at their World Cup matches. On Saturday 18 June, Australia played West Indies at Lord’s. Australia 6/273 cc off 60 overs (Kim Hughes 69, David Hookes 56, Graham Yallop 52no, Rod Marsh 37, Malcolm Marshall 2-36, Larry Gomes 2-47) lost to West Indies 3/276 off 57.5 overs (Viv Richards 95no, Gordon Greenidge 90, Desmond Haynes 33). On Monday 20 June, Australia played India at Chelmsford. India 247 off 55.5 overs (Yashpal Sharma 40, Sandeep Patil 30, Kapil Dev 28, Rodney Hogg 3-40, Jeff Thomson 3-51) defeated Australia 129 off 38.2 overs (Allan Border 36, Madan Lal 4-20, Roger Binny 4-29, Balwinder Sandhu 2-26).
Conveniently for me, on Sunday 19 June, Northamptonshire were playing Warwickshire in a John Player League match at Luton. As mentioned above, I knew Wayne Larkins, the Northants opening batsman, from his time playing with Sutherland in 1978-79 and 1979-80. We had also had another Northants player play with us under the Whitbread Scholarship scheme in the 1979-80 season – off-spinning all-rounder Richard Williams. He played six matches for us in the middle of the season before he had to join the DH Robins XI tour of Australia and New Zealand in mid-February and he finished as the team’s leading wicket-taker for the season, taking 23 wickets at an average of 12.3. His bowling figures were 4-32, 4-52, 4-44, 4-73, 4-39, 3-26 & 0-17 – a remarkable return, with the team winning four of the six matches he played. He also scored 153 runs at an average of 25.5. With both Wayne and Richard playing the Sunday League match, it was an obvious attraction for me to venture up to Luton.
The train ride from St.Pancras Station to Luton was about an hour and the match started at 2pm, so I did some sightseeing in London in the morning and then caught the train. To say that I had a great time at Luton would be a massive understatement! It was the first time I had seen a Sunday League match and the Luton ground wasn’t big. Geoff Cook won the toss for Northants and elected to bat. Wayne Larkins then proceeded to put on a great display of power batting, making his highest List A score of 172 not out, including 12 fours and 6 sixes. After Robert Bailey fell for 27 with score on 64, Wayne and Peter Willey then put on 213 for the second wicket – a record partnership for the second wicket. Wayne’s innings broke the Northants record for the highest Sunday League score of 158 – scored by Wayne vs Worcestershire at the same ground in 1982. He then broke the overall Sunday League record of 163 by Gordon Greenidge for Hampshire. The final Northants total of 2/298 represented a run rate of 7.45 per over – remarkable in those days.
Wayne leaving the field at the end of the innings
When Warwickshire batted, they were in a good position at 1/138 before Richard ripped the heart out of their innings. He took 5-30 off his 8 overs, taking the score from 1/138 to 6/172. These were his career-best bowling figures in 266 List A matches. In most other matches, he would have walked away with the Player of the Match Award, but that was already sewn up by Wayne. Warwickshire had a late innings revival, but they were never really a chance of winning, eventually losing by 34 runs.
Richard leaving the field at the end of the innings
Thus, I had seen both of my friends from their days of playing for Sutherland achieve career-best List A performances in the first Sunday League match that I had been to. It was a great afternoon at Luton! The UK Daily Telegraph report on the Monday morning read as follows:
LARKINS NOTCHES RECORD
WAYNE LARKINS, Northamptonshire’s stylish opener, must relish the pitch at Luton as much as the Warwickshire bowling, writes D.J.Rutnagur.
Larkins yesterday bent the Warwickshire attack to his will to make 172 not out, the highest individual score ever in the John Player League.
The previous record of 163, also made against Warwickshire, had belonged to Gordon Greenidge. At the same venue and against the same opponents, Larkins last year missed equalling it by only five runs.
Despite Larkins’ massive innings, which included 12 fours and six sixes and an accompanying record for the second wicket partnership – 213 with Peter Willey, who made 84 – Northants only won by 34 runs. Their match-winning bowler was off-spin all-rounder Richard Williams, with five for 30.
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club posted this tribute on their website today:
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is deeply saddened by the death of Wayne Larkins at the age of 71. He passed away in University Hospital, Coventry after a short illness.
Wayne – known to the cricketing world as ‘Ned’ – made 716 appearances for Northamptonshire across first-class and one-day cricket between 1972 and 1991, scoring 29,929 County runs with 60 centuries. He also played 13 Tests, spread over eleven years, and 25 ODIs for England – touring Australia, India and West Indies – and his many fans around Wantage Road (and far beyond) have long felt it should have been substantially more.
Not many cricketers have been the inspiration for a new verb, but Wayne could lay claim to that distinction in the 1980s. Around the county circuit it was not unusual to hear pace bowlers – including the future BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew, widely credited with coining the term – fearing they would be ‘Nedded’ when the Northamptonshire opener arrived at the crease. Unquestionably one of the most exciting and naturally talented English top-order batsmen of his generation, he feared no-one with the new ball and could inflict severe damage on the very best. His driving through (and often over) extra cover was a joy to behold, as was his two-over tussle with the decidedly rapid West Indian fast bowler Patrick Patterson at the tail end of a Championship match against Lancashire in 1986 – as Cook looked on with admiration at the non-striker’s end.
But his career in the professional game got off to a faltering start. Regarded initially as an all-rounder (his medium-pace bowling would feature briefly in the 1979 World Cup final at Lord’s, attempting to contain Viv Richards and Collis King), Bedfordshire-born Larkins struggled to make a mark with Northamptonshire after being signed on at £7 per week, and averaged under ten with the bat in his first 25 first-class matches between 1972 and 1975. Fortunately, the club kept patience with him and the breakthrough came towards the end of the 1975 season with a superb 127 – batting at number five – against Essex at Chelmsford, sharing a 273-run partnership with captain Mushtaq Mohammad after coming in at 21 for three.
The following season he secured a place in Northamptonshire history as a member of Mushtaq’s side that lifted the Gillette Cup – the County’s first major trophy – and received his county cap, before in 1978 the retirement of Roy Virgin allowed him to form a fruitful opening partnership with Geoff Cook, ‘The Old Firm’, which lasted a decade. The contrast between the two, accumulator and stroke-maker, posed problems for countless opposition attacks. As Cook observed years later, a potentially awkward 20 minutes before the close would be regarded by ‘Ned’ as an opportunity to put a few on the scoreboard when the field was up and the ball hard and new: “How did we ever fail?” Cook asked. It’s almost frightening to think what he might have achieved – and how much money he might have made – in the present-day Twenty20 global merry-go-round.
Larkins passed 1,000 first-class runs in every season between 1978 and 1985, and his magnificent purple patch in 1983 – hitting 236 against Derbyshire at Derby and 252 off Glamorgan’s attack at Swansea in the space of seven weeks – might well have earned a Test recall, had he not been banned at the time for joining the unofficial tour to South Africa in 1982.
Although never officially appointed captain of Northamptonshire, he deputised as skipper in over 50 matches in the absence of Cook and Allan Lamb. ‘Ned’ was – in Lamb’s words – “up there with the best. What a player when he was on song!” Jim Watts, captain of the County at the start of Wayne’s career, commented: “It gave me such pleasure to watch him play so many wonderful innings. He was part of my life and I will miss him.”
Larkins left Northamptonshire in 1991 to seek a new challenge with Durham as they began their first-class adventure and spent four seasons there, completing the ‘set’ of centuries against the other 17 counties when he hit 112 against his old club. Later, he turned out for both his native Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire in Minor (now National) Counties cricket.
Paying tribute, his wife Debbie said: “Ned loved everyone he met and everyone loved him. People were drawn to his infectious energy. He lit up every room and never wanted the party to finish.
“He loved his soul mate of a wife and his precious daughters so much. He will be partying up in the sky, drinking a toast to everyone and to his own life. We are devastated but we’ll never forget his undeniably unique presence and his impact on our lives.
“We will carry him in our hearts forever.”
Everyone connected with Northamptonshire CCC offers sincerest condolences to Wayne’s family and his many friends.
[Words by Club Archivist Andrew Radd]
I found these tributes on a chat room associated with the Durham area:
“Really sad news. He would always be the opener with Di Venuto in my all time Durham XI.”
“I've told this story before but I'll repeat it again -
In May 1994 we played Gloucs at a freezing Gateshead Fell and Courtney Walsh was fearsome and relentless but Durham made 305 and Ned carried his bat for 158no (extras was next highest with 31). At the end of the innings Walsh came into the Durham dressing room, shook his hand and said, "Man that was some innings!"
Another was his 150 v the 1993 Aussies at the Racecourse in which amazingly we made them follow on. He obviously couldn't be bothered to run too much that day and his first 38 runs featured eight 4s and a six.”
“Best one for me was we were playing Ireland in 1day cup. Durham rooms weren't ready so our hosts invited the players into the hotel bar for some hospitality. He's carried to his room paralytic at 7pm. Cooky not amused. Ned insists on playing next day. Got a ton. On getting ton said to umpire Shep "Haven't seen one ball yet".
RIP Ned.”
“Such sad news, an absolutely tremendous batsman.
In Durham's opening first-class season, I was waiting for a train after a match and a bloke in his 70s saw my replica shirt and, with a misty-eyed look in his eyes, said to me: "Wayne Larkins is a bloody good player isn't he?"
I've never forgotten that. It really made me realise Durham were finally a first-class county. We'd arrived.
RIP Ned.”
“RIP Ned, absolute Durham legend. When Goochie needed someone to face up to the Windies in the Caribbean in 1990 there was no better option than a 36 year old Larkins. Probably should’ve achieved more, but as anyone that frequented the Dun Cow during those early first class days will testify, he certainly enjoyed his life off the pitch.”
Tom Iceton
Sutherland DCC Statistician & Historian
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