(1928– ).

Cricketer.

John Richard Reid was born at Greenlane, Auckland, on 3 June 1928 and educated at Hutt Valley High School. He came to the fore in first-class cricket for Wellington in a Plunket Shield match against Canterbury in 1947 and in the same season played in the North – South Island fixture. He represented New Zealand on the tour of England (1949); South Africa (1953); and played in South Australia and Victoria, India, and Pakistan (1955–56); England (1958); South Africa (1961–62). In all, Reid has played in 42 test matches. His record here, in 78 innings, is: not out, four times; aggregate runs 2,297 (including four centuries and a highest score of 142), giving him an average of 29.45. He holds the record for the best fourth-wicket stand, 324 (with W. M. Wallace, in New Zealand v. Cambridge University (1949)) when he made 188 not out. During the South African tours he recorded centuries in the tests at Durban (1953) and Johannesburg (1961–62). He also scored centuries against India in the tests at Calcutta and New Delhi (1955–56). It was on the 1961–62 tour of South Africa, however, that Reid exhibited his finest form. In the five tests he was once “not out” and gained 546 runs (highest score 142), giving him an average of 60.64. He also bowled 109.2 overs (45 maidens) and took 11 wickets for 217 runs, an average of 19.72. In 17 first-class matches in South Africa, 1961–62, he was not out twice; scored 1,915 runs (thus eclipsing Denis Compton's record of 13 years earlier); highest score, 203 (v. Western Provinces); he hit seven centuries (including two in the match against Orange Free State), and achieved an average of 68.39. In 339.2 overs, 110 of them maidens, he took 27 wickets for 783 runs, giving him an average of 29.0. In bowling he took four wickets for 44 runs. He headed the fielding with 22 catches – some of them being extremely difficult.

For two seasons 1952–54, Reid accepted a position as club professional with the Heywood club in Lancashire. He returned to New Zealand in 1954 and became captain of the Wellington Plunket Shield team. During the 1956–57 season he captained the Otago Plunket Shield team. From 1947 until the end of the 1965 tour, Reid's record in first-class cricket was as follows: 242 matches (114 in New Zealand, 128 overseas); 411 innings; 28 not outs; highest score, 296; aggregate runs 16,024 (7,360 in New Zealand, 8,664 for New Zealand overseas); 39 centuries and a batting average of 41.83. Over the same period he has taken 455 wickets (264 in New Zealand, 191 overseas) for 10,264 runs giving him a bowling average of 22.55. He has won the Redpath Cup on three occasions and the Windsor Cup once. In 1962 Reid was awarded an O.B.E. and in the same year published Sword of Willow.