Bert Sutcliffe family man first

As tributes poured in to the great New Zealand batsman Bert Sutcliffe, who died today at the age of 77, the Sutcliffe family were reminded yet again how much they share their husband, father and grandfather with cricket lovers.

Talking in Auckland, Gary Sutcliffe and his sister Christine Philippe, their voices frequently breaking with emotion, talked about the man who, if cricketing terms were appropriate, had "certainly had a good innings."

Said Christine: "We know that we have to share this time with everyone else. We respect that. Dad was loved and respected by more people than we could possibly imagine."

While acknowledging that his father was "public property," Gary offered a reminder of one of Bert Sutcliffe's characteristics: "He never sought the limelight. He's always been the background person. If anything, he's shunned the limelight. But he appreciates there are times that hasn't been possible."

Speaking as though Bert was in the next room, about to appear with a glass in one hand and a pack of cards in the other, Gary said: "Dad first and foremost is a family man."

"Every family ultimately goes through this situation. People talk about close families ... there are families who become close at a time like this. We are not one of those. We are a family who have always been close.

"In a lot of ways it has been a wonderful experience because we have shared so much which we will continue to share. Dad had a number of wishes and virtually every one of his wishes were family related. His primary concern was that we carry on with the very close family we've got."

Gary talked about his father's simple pleasures, the regular Tuesday night family card sessions. "We're card fiends." Another was brewing his own beer, which he had done for several years.

"And enjoying cricket. As a player, Dad has enjoyed the evolution of cricket. It would be fair to say that for Dad Test cricket is still real cricket but he has never had derogatory remarks to make about the one-day game. He might have made derogatory remarks about the way it is played some of the time. But, at the end of the day, it's cricket. That's what's been really important to him. It's been a huge part of our family.

Confirming the close family relationship, Christine said there were so many sides to their father that the public did not see. Family was his No 1 priority.

"We did spend a lot of time together as a family. He supported all of us with anything we ever wanted to do; whether he agreed with what we were doing or had reservations about it, he was always there supporting us. In later years when I undertook to establish a business, he was right there with me. He was the painter, the decorator, the shoulder to cry on when things got so tough that I thought I could not go on with it."

She described his backing when a council was making things difficult over starting the business. "The only time I had ever known him to do anything to use his name. He decided that the mayor of this council was a great cricket fan. He got on the phone and said: 'Listen mate, my daughter is getting the run-around from your boys. What can you do about it?' Within three or four hours, the red flag was on my file and I had nothing but a smooth passage for the rest of my business. He did that for me, he did things like that for all of us."

Gary recalled a story from a Dunedin journalist who remembered as a lad being picked up by Bert in the Morris Minor. "He went round and picked up all these guys for indoor winter coaching in Dunedin. Quite a big Tiki tour around Dunedin to pick these guys up. They had their coaching session and then he did the same Tiki tour to drop them off home again. That epitomised to this journalist the type of man he was ... there are all sorts of similar examples and I'm sure we'll be hearing about them over the next days and weeks."

Of cricket's place in the household, Christine said her father did not talk about his cricketing deeds at home. "He was modest and humble. Sometimes he used to get almost 'bah humbug' really."

Gary: "This might sound really strange, but it was not often a topic of conversation in the house. Dad would rarely bring cricket up. I might talk about something topical. He would comment on it but he would likely say, 'Let's have a beer and get the cards out.' That is not to say he had no interest but it was not a regular topic of conversation in our house."

Reminded of the troubles Sir Donald Bradman's son had with the Bradman name, Gary said he had no such problems. He remembered a move from Dunedin to Hamilton where he became a third former at Hamilton Boys' High School.

"When the coach heard that Bert Sutcliffe's son was coming to Hamilton Boys' High, I went straight into the First XI squad on name alone. After a few practices, it was obvious to me and probably to everyone else around that I wasn't in that calibre. So I went down to the Fourth XI and played a role as a member of the team.

"I never suffered the way obviously the Don's son had done at all, never. It is only a source of pride for me."

Christine: "There never was any pressure put on you to play the game. The same with his two grandsons, who play cricket for a social team."

Asked about the legacy of Bert Sutcliffe, Gary said that was not an easy question. "He was a very modest person. When people said to his face that he was a legend, he didn't rubbish it. But that's not Dad. Dad didn't wear a legend tag. If I had to state a legacy, it would be that he was a true gentlemen player who cared for his team-mates. A very good team man. Valued the game above any individual."

Gary said his father would want to be remembered as "Bert Sutcliffe, family man and cricketer."

The funeral is at Eden Park on Monday at 2pm.