NZ cricket captain ahead of his time
Former New Zealand captain Barry Sinclair was very much a man ahead of his time. As a teenager in Wellington in the 1950s, he realised that if he was ever going to be a good cricketer he should be fitter.
In his era the sport wasn’t necessarily regarded as a very physical game, and players didn’t need to do anything other than play. It was not for Sinclair, though. He had fallen in love with the game at primary school, and as he strived to improve it became apparent that having a fitness plan would greatly enhance his ability to perform.
Being physical was something that would stay with him long after he’d finished playing. Running was the mainstay of his schedule in his playing days, whether it be wind sprints, and laps of Kilbirnie Park, or going up steep streets in Miramar, plus lots of skipping.
He trained summer and winter, rain or shine. It raised a few eyebrows and, apart from lifelong friend Don Neely, there was hardly anyone else interested in joining him. Some wondered at the motivation for Sinclair’s routine, among them a Wellington and New Zealand team-mate, Bruce Murray.
He said it was extraordinary the way Sinclair drove himself. Sinclair was known to ‘‘worry’’ about his performances and later the New Zealand captaincy, and Murray reasoned Sinclair’s amount of training was to help compensate for that. ‘‘But for what Barry did, and as a person, I hold him in the highest regard,’’ Murray said in 2016.
Sinclair’s continued running would lead to hip operations, and his desire to stay active in later years would see him swimming in the sea at Takapuna, summer and winter, into old age.
His attitude was said to be obsessive, and was evident as he and Neely practised together for hours, often at Kilbirnie Park, the home of the Kilbirnie, and now Eastern Suburbs, Cricket Club. Both men were batters, and they developed their techniques with little or no coaching, such was the paucity of coaches in those days.
It said a lot that Sinclair had played only one senior club game for Kilbirnie, with scores of 26 and 17 not out, when he was named in the Wellington representative squad, making his debut against Canterbury in January 1956, aged 19.
However, he often struggled for Wellington before being chosen for New Zealand’s unofficial tests against Australia in 1960. His performances were encouraging enough to suggest he would be chosen to tour South Africa in 1961-62. His omission was a surprise.
It did serve to spur him towards recovering his place in the team against England in 1963, and truly doing his skills and dedication justice. He played 21 tests for his country, three of them as captain, and became the third New Zealander, behind the legendary Bert Sutcliffe and John R Reid, to score 1000 runs in tests.
Sinclair’s contribution centred around centuries against South Africa, Pakistan and England. There was also an innings of 148 for Wellington against a touring Australian XI at the Basin Reserve in 1967, which might have been his best.
It was his highest first-class score and, appropriately, was made alongside Neely in a fifth-wicket partnership of 131.
Esteemed Dominion sports writer Alex Veysey was in raptures. ‘‘Sinclair’s batting tempted comparison for its power and versatility with the finest innings of John Reid,’’ he wrote. ‘‘But such a comparison would be inappropriate for this was pure Sinclair, batting with a range of strokes that swallowed the textbook, and then extended on through sheer originality.’’
Neely said: ‘‘I played a support role in getting 44. Barry was in sublime touch and the Australian attack just couldn’t contain him.’’
Nearly 50 years later, another Wellington and New Zealand player, Artie Dick, said: ‘‘Barry had changed from a defensive player to a much more attacking one. His 148 was staggering for its dominance – a remarkable innings.’’
The previous summer, with the retirement of Reid, New Zealand needed a new captain. Whoever would assume the role was filling very big shoes, and there was support for Sinclair being the long-term solution, most notably from Reid, despite Sinclair not having led a team at any level, and Neely being Wellington captain.
Sinclair agreed to be vice-captain to Murray Chapple in 1966, but just before play in the second test against England in Dunedin, Chapple had to drop out with an injury, and Sinclair was suddenly having to grab his blazer in readiness for the toss.
He led the side well, ‘‘always in firm control’’, said team member Grahame Bilby, another Wellingtonian.
Sinclair continued as captain in the third test, in an unofficial series against Australia in 1967 and in the first test against India in 1968 before needing to take a break, exhausted and not fit to play. The demands of captaincy, the need to make a living from a strictly amateur game – Bilby talked about being paid only dry-cleaning money – having recently married, and not able to give his batting full attention all weighed heavily on him.
He missed the second and third tests against India, and came back for the fourth at Eden Park. It was to be his final test. In all, he captained New Zealand in 13 matches, and played other games for his country before realising in 1970, ‘‘I don’t want to do it any more’’. He was 33.
He played one more season for Wellington, finally as captain, and was prolific at Kilbirnie, scoring 6000 runs at an average a tick under 50, completing 15 centuries before moving to Auckland.
Bilby played a lot with Sinclair at Kilbirnie and for Wellington, and remembered him as very intense. ‘‘He was a very nice guy, but he could get grumpy when he got out. He didn’t take failing too well. He’d think about it a lot longer than most of us. He would be depressed about it.’’
Sinclair could be a nervous starter but no-one would doubt his courage. He played in the days before helmets, and because he was small (1.63m) he could become a target for opposing fast bowlers. He was hit, but his technique against short balls and refusal to be intimidated earned him much respect.
Like a number of his contemporaries, his statistics were modest by modern standards. He averaged 29.44 in tests, his first-class average in 118 matches was 32.87, and he scored just six centuries. But given that he was an amateur, that the first-class season was short, and that players often had to use their annual leave, he still performed outstandingly.
He was also a brilliant fielder in the covers, and twice won the Redpath Cup as New Zealand’s premier batsman.
In Auckland, he worked for a number of export companies into his 80s, and continued to be involved in cricket. He did invaluable work for the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association, he was a coach, selector and helped organise big fundraising luncheons at the North Shore club. He coached the 1st XI at Takapuna Grammar School, and became a mentor to Richard Jones, a past Auckland and Wellington batsman, who would play for New Zealand in 2003.
Jones was a third-former when he joined the 1st XI, then captained by Sinclair’s younger son, Jeremy. ‘‘Barry was a man of few words. He didn’t fluff around. He kept it simple,’’ Jones said. ‘‘He’d say stuff like ‘Don’t hit the ball in the air, and you won’t get caught’, and ‘Tuck your shirt in’.’’
When Jones’ cricket in Auckland was stagnating, Sinclair ‘‘opened a couple of doors’’ for a move to Wellington, which ignited his career. ‘‘Barry was fantastic. I could ring him anytime. He was big on the fundamentals, and would wear his arm out giving me throw-ins. He became a very good friend for me and my family.’’
Sinclair was 85, and like Neely, died in a rest home with dementia, 24 days after his friend. He is survived by sons Mark and Jeremy, and grandchildren Nicholas, Christian, Max, Lucy and Harriet. –By