Tributes flow for cricket great

Former Black Caps selector and NZ Cricket (NZC) president Don Neely has died aged 86, prompting an outpouring of tributes from the cricket world.

Neely was a notable cricket historian and author, a life member of NZC, a trustee of the NZ Cricket Museum and former president of NZC and Cricket Wellington.

He also spent 14 years as a New Zealand selector, including seven as convener of selectors. A right-handed batsman, he played for Wellington between 1964 and 1968 and captained the side from 1965 to 1968, before playing for Auckland from 1968 to 1971.

Neely was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1995 New Year Honours and a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2011 New Year Honours, both for services to cricket.

In 2008, the Basin Reserve unveiled a new electronic scoreboard, which was officially named the Don Neely Scoreboard.

Cricket Wellington was quick to pay tribute to Neely who spent a considerable period of his life promoting cricket in the region.

“Don dedicated his life to cricket as a player, administrator and historian, and the Basin Reserve scoreboard is named after Don in his honour. Our thoughts are with his wife Padianne, his family and friends,” the organisation wrote on social media.

Former director of the NZ Cricket Museum, Jamie Bell, said Neely was a constant presence during his time there and his contributions to the museum were unrivalled.

“Don was one of the few people with the influence to help the Museum who actually did so. I’ve often joked the Museum’s collection is about 80 per cent marked with small round stickers bearing the name ‘Neely’,” Bell wrote on Twitter.

“I’m grateful he wrote so many books, shared so much of his knowledge, and did things others weren’t, like photographing women’s cricket in the 1970s.”

Veteran sports journalists also lauded Neely’s contributions to cricket during his life, with Newstalk ZB’s Jason Pine saying he played a crucial role in fuelling his passion for the sport as a youngster.

“Growing up, I pored over every page of the DB Cricket annuals and later Men in White,” Pine wrote on Twitter.

“I was lucky enough to meet Don and work alongside him on the Wellington Sports Legends panel. A wonderful man.”

Wellington Mayor Andy Foster said it was fitting that Neely’s passing has been noted on the main scoreboard at the Basin Reserve — named in his honour.

“I offer heartfelt condolences to Don’s wife Paddianne, family and friends. He’ll be sadly missed.”