Geoff Boycott talks a good game, but he did not always get it right when he was a player. England’s cricketers were in Wellington in February 1978. Boycott was standing in as captain for an injured Mike Brearley and made the wrong decision after winning the toss in the first match of a three-Test series. He opted to bowl on a dry, uneven pitch at the Basin Reserve and was left to regret his decision.

At the time, New Zealand were the whipping boys of world cricket. They had made 48 attempts to beat England and failed. One of their players was Geoff Howarth, a young batsman trying to win a regular place in the team.

“I don’t think we were ever confident about beating anybody, never mind England,” he says. “We always went out hoping for the best. If we got a draw, that was our Test victory. Blokes were insurance salesmen or office managers, or whatever else they did. We were only weekend cricketers.”

This was David versus Goliath. However, two things evened the contest. One was the pitch, and the other was Richard Hadlee, New Zealand’s fast bowler. On an overcast, cold and windy Wellington weekend, the pitch was made for grafting batsmen. There was no finer grafter than John Wright. The Kiwi opener plodded his way to a half century in five hours, and when New Zealand were all out for 228 on the second day, they had occupied the crease for nearly nine hours. Hadlee and his new-ball partner, Richard Collinge, then took advantage of the conditions to bowl out England for 215 and give their team a 13-run first-innings lead.

In their second innings, New Zealand were all out for 123 on a deteriorating square and England needed only 137 runs for victory. “It helped that Hadlee was bowling extremely well,” says Howarth. “The wicket of Boycott in those conditions was vital because he was the bloke that could have stuck around and guided England to the total they required.” Collinge dismissed the England opener for one. With the visiting middle order now exposed, New Zealand seized their chance.

“Hadlee could bowl very quickly for three or four overs and then ran out of gas,” says Howarth. “In latter years, when he shortened his run, he could bowl longer spells. On this occasion, it wasn’t hot and he bowled accurately, quickly and was hostile, and broke the back of the English batting.”

With one day left, England had slumped to 53 for eight. The last two wickets fell early on the final morning to give New Zealand their first win over England in 48 years. “I had been running all round the field because things were happening quite quickly on the fourth afternoon. I was trying to help the captain out by doing fine leg to fine leg to third man to third man,” says Howarth. “I ended up in slip and gully for the last couple of wickets because we needed fieldsmen in there. Bob Willis was the last batsman in and we knew he speared the ball down through the gully area. I happened to be there and it was a very proud moment to hold the catch that won the first Test match.”

England were bowled out for 64 and New Zealand won by 72 runs. Hadlee finished with figures of six for 26. “We had the best of the conditions batting first and bowling last, but it was a wonderful occasion and wonderful to do it in the style we did. There were only a few thousand people there at the end but it was a memorable time for a lot of former cricketers. Bert Sutcliffe, who had been around trying for a long time to beat England, got very emotional with his speech.”

Out came the champagne and the celebrations started, with middle-order batsman John Parker joining in. “John was a strict tee-totaller and he got drunk on about two sips of champagne,” says Howarth.

England bounced back and won the second Test in Christchurch but could only draw the deciding match in Auckland. Howarth, who scored two centuries in the game, thwarted them.

“There was a rumour that I was going to score your maiden Test hundred and back it up with another is pretty high on the agenda. It helped start things rolling. Both myself and New Zealand came of age during that series.”

1 Richard Hadlee New Zealand’s finest cricketer, he started as a tearaway fast bowler and then concentrated on nagging accuracy to become the first to take 400 Test wickets. Knighted in 1990, he was the chairman of selectors for New Zealand’s current series but has now relinquished the job. He is an after-dinner speaker and media commentator

2 Stephen Boock get dropped after the Wellington Test but the selectors showed faith in me and stuck with a winning combination,” he says. “To A tall, left-arm slow bowler, he made his Test debut in the Wellington match but played a minor role in seamer-friendly conditions. He was more prominent at Trent Bridge a few months later where he took two for 29 off 28 overs. He lives in Christchurch and runs a supermarket business

3 Mark Burgess The game in Wellington was his debut as captain, but it was to be his only victory at the helm in two years. A right-handed middle-order batsman, he scored five centuries in a 12-year spell. He is a director for a sports goods company in Auckland

4 Robert Anderson His father Mac played one Test for New Zealand and was fast bowler Ray Lind-wall’s first victim. Robert had more success, playing in nine Tests. He never really set the world on fire but was a consistent performer in the domestic game. He lives in Auckland and works in insurance

5 Geoff Howarth With steely determination, Howarth became a fixture in the team and an excellent captain. He led New Zealand to a series victory against West Indies and master-minded their first Test win on English soil. He coached the national side and for the past eight years has coached at the Hailey-bury School in Hertfordshire

6 John Wright This was the Test debut to what was an illustrious career, during which he anchored many of New Zealand’s innings. He had a gritty defence and the temperament to fight for lost causes, and dedicated his first biography to his thigh pad. Formerly coach of India, he is now the acting high performance manager for New Zealand and may take over as coach next April

7 Richard Collinge A left-arm seam bowler who thrived in swing conditions, Collinge was in his element in Wellington. He was 6ft 5in tall and a regular in the team, taking more than 100 Test wickets. He has lived in Sydney for the past 10 years, where he is an accountant

- ESPN Classic, Sky channel 442, will show the 1979 World Cup semi-final between England and New Zealand at 9pm today

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