John Reid (Courtesy: Twitter)
John Reid (Courtesy: Twitter)

John R Reid – New Zealand cricketing great and the country’s oldest surviving Test player, has died in Auckland, aged 92, the cricket board said in an official media release. Reid was regarded as one of the world’s best all-rounders during his heyday in the fifties and early sixties.

He captained his country in 34 Tests including, most notably, New Zealand’s first three victories. The first, against the West Indies at Auckland in 1956, broke a winless streak of 26 years for the New Zealand team. The second and third both came during New Zealand’s drawn series in South Africa in 1961-62.

John Reid, New Zealand's Oldest Surviving Test Cricketer, Dies At 92
John Reid. (Credits: Twitter)

“John R Reid was New Zealand cricket’s Colin Meads,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White. “He was, and will remain, a household name in this country, having helped pave the way for everything that has come in his wake”

John Reid was a hard-hitting batsman 

Reid was a hard-hitting right batsman and a brisk seam bowler who played 58 tests, scoring 3428 runs at 33.28, while taking 85 wickets at 33.35. Of his six Test centuries, the highest was 142 against South Africa at Johannesburg, in the Boxing Day Test of 1961.

As a 19-year-old, Reid made his Test debut at Manchester on the 1949 tour of England, scoring 50 and 25; before standing in to keep wicket in the fourth and final Test, during which he scored 93 in his team’s second innings.

John Reid (Courtesy: Twitter)
John Reid (Courtesy: Twitter)

He was the only surviving member of the famous 49ers. Following the 1965 tour of England Reid retired, but returned to the United Kingdom only a few weeks later to captain the Rest of the World in two matches against England at Scarborough and Lord’s.

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He was later a New Zealand selector, manager, and an ICC match referee.

Reid played 246 first-class games, scoring 16128 runs at 41.35, including 39 centuries, while taking 466 wickets at 22.60.