New Zealand cricket great John Reid passes away aged 92

Former New Zealand cricket captain and 1959 Wisden Cricketer of the Year, John Reid has passed away aged 92 after a prolonged battle with colon cancer.

Reid, regarded one of New Zealand's finest cricketers, is best remembered for captaining the country when it won its first-ever Test match at Auckland in 1956, ending a winless streak that had stretched for 26 years. He top scored in that game with his first-innings 84 and also claimed a wicket. In all, Reid would go on to lead New Zealand in 34 of the 58 Tests he played.

Reid was a hard-hitting middle-order batsman, who also bowled medium pace. He made his debut for New Zealand in the 1949 Manchester Test against England and played international cricket until 1965. He scored 3428 at an average of 33.28 including six hundreds, the highest of which was a 142 against South Africa in the Boxing Day of 1961 at Johannesburg. He also took 85 wickets and also kept wickets in the final Test of that 1949 England tour. In all, he played 246 first class games, scoring 16128 runs and taking 466 wickets.

Reid made 493 runs during the tour of India in 1955-56 averaging 70. It was that tour of South Africa in 1961 that saw Reid at the zenith of his career as he led New Zealand to two victories in a drawn away series. His success as a captain was instrumental in him being chosen to lead a Rest of the World side in two matches against England in 1965 at Scarborough and Lord's. Reid later went on to become a national selector, team manager and an ICC match referee.

Before his passing, he was the country's oldest living Test cricketer and the fifth oldest living cricketer in the world. "John R Reid was New Zealand cricket's Colin Meads," New Zealand Cricket Chief Executive David White said.

"He was, and will remain, a household name in this country, having helped pave the way for everything that has come in his wake. Our thoughts and respect are with his family at this time, wife Norli; children Alison, Richard and Ann, and his grandchildren, Oliver, Megan, Christina and Angus. NZC will acknowledge and mark John's wonderful life and career at an appropriate time."