Mr T. C. Lowry dies

Press, 22 July 1976, Page 10

Mr T. C. Lowry dies

PA Wellington. Mr Thomas Coleman Lowry, a former New Zealand cricket captain and a noted racehorse breeder, died at his Hastings racing stud on Tuesday. He was aged 78.

A right-hand batsman and wicket-keeper, Mr Lowry had a remarkable cricket career in which he captained two New Zealand teams to England, once as managercaptain. and returned later as a player-manager for a third tour of England.

He twice scored centuries for New Zealand against the M.C.C. at Lord’s, the first, in 1927, an innings of 106 scored in 100 minutes.

Born at Femhill, Napier, Mr Lowry’s cricket career included 80 matches for New Zealand. He also played firstclass cricket for Wellington, Somerset, and Cambridge University.

In a cricket career which spanned from 1917 to 1937, he played 198 first-class matches and hit 18 centuries in scoring 9421 runs at an average of 31.19. An occasional bowler, he took 49 wickets at a cost of 24.85 each, 31 of them in matches for New Zealand. For New Zealand he scored 3481 runs, including eight centuries, at an average of 32.84 in 118 innings, he made 57 dismissals as a wicket-keeper. He first came into the New Zealand side as a late replacement in the team that toured Australia in 1925-26 and last played when playermanager of the 1937 team in England. In seven tests he scored 223 runs at an aver age of 27.87 from eight innings and made eight dismissals.

All his test matches were as captain against England—four in New Zealand in 19291930 and three in England in 1931. Mr Lowry was educated at Christ’s College, and Cambrdige, where he gained a cricket biue. He captained the university team in 1924. It was during this period that he played for Somerset, and also earned selection for the M.C.C. on its 1922 tour of New Zealand and Australia. He later turned to horse breeding with success. Among the most successful horses he raced was Game, a Faux Tirage-Calm gelding, which he raced in partnership with his wife.

Game’s successes included the 1966 Wanganui Guineas, the Ormond Memorial Gold Cup three times from 1969 to 1971, the 1968 Manawatu Challenge Stakes, the 1971 Canterbury Cup, the 1971 Awapuni Gold Cup and the 1971 Harcourt Stakes.

He also raced Rover, which won both the Great Northern Leger Stakes and the New Zealand St Leger Stakes in 1958, and Key, which had several successes in major races during the early 19605. Among Key’s successes were the 1962 Awapuni Gold Cup, the 1963 Hawke’s Bay Cup and the 1963 North Island Challenge Stakes.