Sturdy all-rounder for Worcestershire and England
Martin Horton, who has died aged 76, was captivated by cricket from the day he was taken to New Road, Worcester, his local ground, to see the county play a touring team from India in 1946. He had just celebrated his 12th birthday, and the rhythms of the encounter at the packed ground excited him and mapped his life's ambition.
Horton was signed by Worcestershire at 15 and made his debut in 1952, aged 18, playing until 1966, after which he carved out a second chapter as coach of the New Zealand national side. Part of his cricket education came in 1953 during his national service in the RAF when (alongside the young Fred Trueman) he bowled for Combined Services against Australia at Kingston upon Thames.
He had sporting blood, though not of cricket's grass-and-sunshine variety. His father was a Midlands boxing champion. Born in Worcester and educated at Sacred Heart college, Droitwich, the youngster was sturdily built, and there was a dourness and determination about his batting and his off-spin bowling more befitting of a prizefighter. He became attached to Stourbridge Cricket Club.
When he was chosen for the first of his two Test matches for England, against India at Trent Bridge (followed by Lord's) in 1959, he was described by John Arlott as being "a good 'business' bowler on a turning wicket, but little danger to good batsmen on a good pitch". Horton, who went on to score 2,468 runs at 44.87 in 58 innings that summer, quietly justified his selection with 58 at Trent Bridge, where he joined his captain, Peter May, in a brief partnership before supporting the swashbuckling Godfrey Evans in a century stand.
England advanced to an innings victory, the first in a clean sweep of all five Test matches that summer. Twenty-four tight overs had brought Horton no wickets, but he was widely regarded as an intelligent cricketer and was retained for the Lord's Test, thus realising the ultimate English schoolboy's dream, although he was to score only two and take a couple of tailend wickets. And that was the end of his Test career.
For Worcestershire, however, he was a sturdy pillar through 15 summers, having excited considerable interest when achieving the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in 1955. The career figures demonstrate his value to a county which seldom made headlines: 17,974 runs at 29.04, with 22 centuries (the highest being 233 against Somerset at Worcester in 1962); 774 wickets at 26.33, with a best return of nine for 56 in the county's victory against the 1955 South African touring team. He took a hat-trick against Somerset at Bath in 1956.
In the course of that 1962 double-century, Horton established with Tom Graveney a third-wicket record of 314, which lasted for 35 years until raised dramatically to 438 by Graeme Hick and Tom Moody.
With Don Kenyon, Horton established one of the most prolific and dependable opening partnerships in the county game. With Graveney, Ron Headley and Dick Richardson piling on the runs, and the seamer Jack Flavell and the left-arm spinner Norman Gifford each taking more than 100 wickets, Worcestershire became county champions in 1964 for the first time. Horton's important contribution was 1,680 runs and 46 wickets.
When his county, strengthened by the arrival of Basil D'Oliveira, were champions again the following summer, his contribution was more marginal, and after one further season his county days were over, his involvement curtailed by a knee injury. Horton ended his championship career twice as disappointingly as he had begun it, with two ducks against Sussex at his beloved Worcester. The next day, at Lord's, he and Kenyon opened in Worcestershire's unsuccessful Gillette final against Warwickshire.
He served as New Zealand's national coach for the next 16 years, also playing for Northern Districts between 1967 and 1971. His coaching work earned him the Bert Sutcliffe medal last year for his achievements.
Homesickness was a decisive factor in the return of Horton and his family to Britain in 1983. He continued to pursue his love of classical music and skittles, and coached at the Royal Grammar school, Worcester, for 12 years. Having joined Worcestershire's committee, he was chairman of cricket from 1998 to 2001.
Horton's ashes were scattered on the Worcester ground. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, and their daughter, Shelley.
• Martin John Horton, cricketer, born 21 April 1934; died 3 April 2011