New Zealand cricket great John Reid dies at 92
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — John Reid, the New Zealand cricket great who captained his country for its first three test victories and was one of the world’s best allrounders in the 1950s and 60s, has died. He was 92.
Reid’s death was announced by New Zealand Cricket on Wednesday. The cause of death was not disclosed.
A hard-hitting batsman and a pacey seam bowler, Reid played 58 tests for New Zealand — captain for 34 of them. He scored 3,428 runs, including six centuries, and took 85 wickets.
With Reid at the helm, the Kiwis won a test match for the first time when they beat the West Indies in Auckland in 1956. Their second and third wins came against South Africa in a series in 1961-62.
Reid made his debut for New Zealand in 1949, at the age of 19, and is widely regarded to have carried the test team through its early years.
A blunt speaker, Read once said he would have recorded better figures had he played in a stronger team and that opening batsman Bert Sutcliffe was his only teammate capable of scoring a test century.
“You do feel it’s all on you and that can weigh you down,” he said. "But I never thought about it like that at the time. You just get on with it.″
Reid once hit four sixes on the first morning of a test against India in Calcutta and a world record 15 in a first class innings of 296 for Wellington against Northern Districts. Reid was also a capable wicketkeeper,.
“John R. Reid was New Zealand cricket’s Colin Meads,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said, referring to the country's rugby great. “He was, and will remain, a household name in this country, having helped pave the way for everything that has come in his wake.”
Reid was later a New Zealand selector, manager, and also an ICC match referee.
A memorial service for Reid at the Basin Reserve in Wellington is being planned, NZC said.
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