Background
Martin was born in Nelson, New Zealand.
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William Martin
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He attended Nelson College from 1939 to 1940.
Career
Martin was an umpire in first-class cricket from December 1958 to January 1978. A substantial majority of his first-class matches as umpire were played at Wellington"s Basin Reserve. He also umpired six List A one-day matches.
He stood in 15 Test matches between 1963 and 1973.
All of the Test matches he umpired were played in New Zealand. He made his debut as a Test umpire in the 2nd Test between New Zealand and England at the Basin Reserve in Wellington in March 1963, standing with Douglas Dumbleton.
Cowdrey and Smith"s ninth-wicket partnership remains a record for England. Later that month, he umpired the 3rd Test between New Zealand and England, at Lancaster Park in Christchurch, where Fred Trueman took his 243rd Test wicket, passing Brian Statham"s world record (Statham played three further Tests in 1963 and 1965, taking another 10 wickets, but did not pass Trueman"s new record).
Martin also umpired the 1st Test against South African at Wellington in February 1964 which was disrupted by damage to the pitch caused by anti-apartheid demonstrators.
He and Tony Mackintosh both stood in their last Test as umpire in the 3rd Test between New Zealand and Pakistan at Eden Park in Auckland in February 1973. New Zealand opening batsman Rodney Redmond scored 107 and 56. This was to be the only Test match in which he was to play, leaving him with a Test batting average of 81.50.
Membership
In the 1978 New Year Honours Martin was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to cricket.
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Born
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Nationality
New Zealand