Mark Carrington in full flight.
Carrington was later chosen to tour Australia with New Zealand, where he played a first-class match against Queensland and a one-day game against New South Wales.
He played representative cricket for Poverty Bay (1977–83), Hamilton (1983–86) and Thames Valley (1987–91).
Carrington and fellow Gisborne cricketer (the late) Roger Broughton were among the first players of Māori descent to represent Northern Districts.
Gisborne Boys’ High School principal Tom Cairns said Carrington was one of his heroes.
“I was a kid … he was 12 years older than me. He was big and he was fast.”
Cairns took issue with the description of Carrington as “medium-fast”.
“He was pretty rapid. He gave a few guys a hurry-up round here.”
Carrington also played in the First XV as a flanker, but he was fast enough to play on the wing, Cairns said.
“He had a nephew, Lennon [Carrington], who was in the national champion Boys’ High team in 2007, and Scott and Carl Baistow were also his nephews. When we played in Hamilton, he would come along and watch. He obviously followed the school.
“He was a big man, quiet, and a very nice bloke … a very prominent old boy.”