With the short England tour finishing in Bulawayo with a five-nil whitewash to the visitors, Matabeleland cricket now gets down to the local league and forthcoming Logan Cup competition, awaiting the next visit from a touring side, Australia in April next year.

The final England match was a sad occasion for Bulawayo, as one of the country's best-known cricket administrators, Dr John Martin, passed away. A minute's silence was observed by both teams prior to commencement of play in honour of the past president of the Matabeleland Cricket Association.

John Martin was born in England in 1932, and was the son of Sid Martin who played for Worcestershire and the then Rhodesia in later years. John arrived in Rhodesia at a young age and attended Bulawayo Technical College (now known as Gifford Technical) where he played all sports, especially cricket and tennis. In 1949 he made the Rhodesian Schools Nuffield Team which participated in the South African Schools Nuffield Cricket Week held in Salisbury.

It was during this week that some memorable bowling performances - 4/23 against Western Province, 4/20 v Transvaal and 3/28 v Border - saw John selected for the South African Schools XI. His father Sid was playing for Rhodesia at the same time, a unique family achievement.

He qualified at Wits (Witwatersrand) University in dentistry in South Africa and then went to England for dental experience before returning to Rhodesia. At the age of 40 he was diagnosed as suffering from diabetes, with which he lived with for the rest of his life.

John's main love for life, apart from his family, was cricket, and this popular and kindly gentleman now put his time into the wonderful sport and became involved in administration. He became a member of the well-known Stragglers Cricket Club as a player and later became president, a post he held for many years. He became chairman of the Matabeleland Cricket Association and then president for many years, and was more than willing to offer advice and guidance not only to the Board but also to players and followers alike. John was at the forefront of guiding Matabeleland cricket to the level it should have been after a few years of poor administration which saw the once predominant cricket province sliding in performance and lacking the ability to produce top-class cricketers.

John has meant much to many people, but will be remembered as a `true gentleman', a charming host, elegant and eloquent, dignified but with a rare sense of humour; a lover of good things material and ethical; a man good with his hands, yet a lover of fine arts and music. Matabeleland pays tribute to one of our sporting stalwarts.

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