John R Reid, one of the greatest New Zealand cricketers, passed away earlier today. He was 92.
Reid captained New Zealand 34 times. He led them to their first three Test wins.
And had there been no Sobers, Reid might have been considered the finest all-rounder of the era.
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Reid could hit hard off both the front foot and the back, bowl really quick, switch to medium-pace off-cutters, and even bowl off-breaks.
He was a terrific fielder, and even kept wickets.
In Test cricket he had 3,428 runs at 33.28, 85 wickets at 33.35, and 44 dismissals.
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But that is just cricket. By his own admission, he played rugby better than cricket. He was also an excellent swimmer, sprinter, and boxer.
On paper it does not seem right to compare Sobers and Reid, but one must remember that Reid was not a professional cricketer.
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New Zealand were the minnows of world cricket during his career. The infrastructure was not what it is now.
So while his contemporaries were making money out of cricket, Reid was running a Shell depot, finding time to lead the weakest Test-playing nation of the era.
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Some facts:
In India in 1955-56, Reid scored 493 runs at 70.
He picked Gupte easily, which annoyed Gupte. When an irritated Gupte bowled wide, hoping for a lapse, Reid would not even lift his bat.
Perhaps the only man who could annoy Gupte.
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In 1961-62 in South Africa he scored 546 runs at 61, and took 11 wickets at under 20.
Barring Sobers, he is the only captain to do the 500-run-10-wicket double in a series.
South Africa went 1-0 up, then 2-1, but New Zealand levelled 2-2, winning their second and third Tests.
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During this series, Reid got a dazzling 142.
Tiger Lance sought advice from captain Jackie McGlew.
McGlew: Keep it up to the bat and pray to God that he makes a mistake.
Lance: I can't. I think that's Him batting.
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Batting for Wellington against Southern Districts in 1962-63, he hit 15 sixes – a world record that stood for 32 years.
That same season he scored a hundred out of a total of 159 against England at Christchurch. This is still the lowest Test score to include a hundred.
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After his retirement, he played in what is believed to be the first cricket match at the South Pole.
Not an ordinary life, then.
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Decades before Wankhede Test of 2011-12, the Eden Gardens and Chepauk Tests of 2000-01, even the Chepauk tie of 1986, India and Australia played one of the greatest Test matches on Indian soil.
The Test ended on this day, 1964. It was also Dussehra.
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Australia were one-up in the three-Test series. This was the second Test.
Unfortunately for them, O'Neill went down with a stomach pain *after the toss* here and took no further part in the Test.
This meant that Australia played the Test with only ten men.
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Australia scored 320 and 274. India, 341. They needed 254.
India lost Jaisimha, Durani, and Nadkarni by stumps on Day 4. They were 74/3.
Now Pataudi had an unusual habit of shuffling the batting order.
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