Ross Dykes, one of the great servants of cricket in New Zealand and New Zealand Cricket, has died in Auckland, aged 75.
A solid wicket-keeper batsman for Auckland, Dykes played 31 first-class games between 1967 and 1977, effecting 81 dismissals and making 723 runs at an average of 20.
No sooner had his playing career ended than he began his long service as a selector, first a 12-year stint with Auckland, then a stretch on the New Zealand panel between 1990 and 2005 – broken only by a year off in 1993.
Dykes was convener of selectors between 1996 and 2000; his most notable decision coming in early 1997 when his panel oversaw the selection of an 18-year-old Daniel Vettori, New Zealand’s youngest Test player.
In this period he was also the manager of several New Zealand teams, taking sides to Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa, England and Australia.
An Auckland man through and through, Dykes moved to Dunedin in 2005 to take over the role as the chief executive of the Otago Cricket Association, admitting at the time he’d never lived more than a kilometre from One Tree Hill.
He served that role successfully for a decade, the most significant development during his tenure being the establishment of the University of Otago Oval as New Zealand’s seventh Test venue.
Dykes, who is survived by his wife Sue, four children and three grandchildren, acted for several years as an NZC match referee, overseeing first-class games, List A matches, and women’s internationals.
Match officials and BLACKCAPS in tonight’s third T20 international at Bay Oval will wear black arm-bands to recognise Dykes’ service to the game in New Zealand.
