Former New Zealand captain John Reid passes away aged 92
One of New Zealand's finest cricketers John Reid has passed away aged 92 on Wednesday. Reid lost his life after a prolonged battle with colon cancer. An all-rounder, Reid was a prolific right-handed batsman, who could bowl both right-arm seam or off-spin. Notably, he was adjudged the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1959. Here are further details on the same.
Reid captained New Zealand to their first ever Test win
Reid will forever be remembered for captaining New Zealand when it won its first-ever Test match at Auckland in 1956. Reid scored 84 in the first innings and also claimed a wicket against the West Indies. The win saw them ending a winless streak that had stretched for 26 years. The champion cricketer led New Zealand in 34 of the 58 Tests he played.
A look at Reid's career
Reid scored 3,428 at an average of 33.28 including six hundreds, with a best of 142 against South Africa in the Boxing Day Test in 1961 at Johannesburg. He also picked up 85 wickets and also kept wickets in the final Test of the 1949 England tour. Overall, he played 246 First-class games, scoring 16,128 runs and taking 466 wickets.
Presenting the crucial moments in Reid's career
Reid made his debut for New Zealand in the 1949 Manchester Test against England and played international cricket until 1965. He went on to score 493 runs during the tour of India in 1955-56 averaging 70. The tour of South Africa in 1961 saw Reid leading the Black Caps to two victories in a drawn away series.
Reid captained the Rest of the World against England
Following the 1965 tour of England, Reid went on to retire. However, he returned to the UK only a few weeks later to captain the Rest of the World in two matches against England at Scarborough and Lord's. He was later a New Zealand selector, manager, and an ICC match referee as well.
NZC chief executive David White hails Reid
NZC chief executive David White said Reid will remain a household name in the country. "John R Reid was New Zealand cricket's Colin Meads," he 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." he added.
Reid's heroics against England in 1963
In the 1963 Test match between New Zealand and England, Reid made 100 in the second innings. Notably, his side was bowled out for 162. As per BBC, this is still a record for the lowest completed Test innings to include a century.
