John Richard Reid

John Richard Reid (born 3 June, 1928, Auckland) was a New Zealand cricketer who captained New Zealand in 34 Tests. He was the country's first cricketing leader to achieve victory, both at home against the West Indies in 1956 and the first away win, against South Africa in 1962. During his career he was a leading force with both the bat and the ball.

Career

"The figures mislead," confirmed John Mehaffey, whose favourite Reid was. "Nobody who saw him at the crease would dispute his own assessment that he could have increased his batting average by half again if he had played in the 1980s side with Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe."

An aggressive batsman, Reid once hit four sixes in ten deliveries on the opening morning of a Calcutta Test Match. He also held a then-world record of fifteen sixes in an innings of 296 for Wellington against Northern Districts. According to England captain Ted Dexter (Reid's opposite number in the 1962-63 series), Reid hit the ball as consistently powerfully as anyone he had ever seen. With a strong build, Reid had been set for a career in rugby before a schoolboy bout of rheumatic fever prevented this. He drove powerfully off both the back and the front foot, and was a clean hitter to leg.

Reid was also a strong and aggressive bowler who, in his early days, was an authentic quick. He later turned to off-cutters and spin from a short run-up with a trademark side-step. Until a swollen knee slowed down his movements and checked...
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