He helped solve some big cases, including the 1986 Dennis Drinkwater truck bombing murder in Hornby.

Another case required Quested and Detective Inspector Dave Haslett to visit Britain to make some inquiries there – but even then there was a cricketing connection.

“He got to go to the [1993] Women’s World Cup final at Lord’s when he was over there when [police colleague] Sarah Illingworth was captain of the New Zealand team,’’ Richard Quested – himself a police Senior Sergeant in Timaru, said.

Quested, Haslett and another colleague John Rae received police bronze awards for their work on a manslaughter case against Christchurch surgeon Keith Ramstead, which resulted in a conviction that was later quashed by the Privy Council over an irregularity at the High Court trial.