Former New Zealand captain Barry Sinclair dies aged 85

Former New Zealand captain Barry Sinclair, who was the third player to pass 1000 runs for his country, has died aged 85.

Sinclair played 21 Tests between 1963 and 1968, scoring three centuries - one each against South Africa, Pakistan and England.

"We were all very sad to hear of Barry's passing," Heath Mills, the chief executive of the New Zealand Cricket players' association, said. "We have been blessed to have him involved with the NZCPA for so many years.

"Barry was one of the first past players to sign up to our organisation and loved being involved and helping the current players achieve a better environment in the game. We are going to miss him greatly."

He led New Zealand thrice, firstly in place of an injured Murray Chapple against England at Dunedin in 1966, and then in the final match of the same series. It was nearly two years before New Zealand's next Test, and Sinclair captained them against India in Dunedin before making himself unavailable for the next two games due to work commitments.

He returned for the final match of the series in Auckland for what would be his last Test.

When he passed 1000 runs with his century against England in 1966, he followed Bert Sutcliffe and John R Reid as New Zealand batters to that milestone.

In total, he played 118 first-class games, making 6114 runs at 32.87, including six centuries. He was also regarded as a brilliant fielder.

In the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours, Sinclair was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.