The former New Zealand test cricket captain, barry Sinclair died at the age of 85. Sinclair, who was a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to cricket in 2016, was one of the best NZ batsmen during the 1960s when he scored three centuries, including the knock of 138 not out during a match against South Africa. At the time, it was the highest test score by a New Zealander on the NZ team.

Sinclair was selected for the first time for Wellington as an 18-year-old player and then went on to play 118 first-class games for the side, scoring six centuries and 38 half-centuries with an average of 32.87. Sinclair was selected for New Zealand at the age of 26 and just two years later, he found himself in the position of captain against England. Eventually, he captained the team three times out of a total of 21 test caps and retired from representative cricket with an average of 29.42, back in 1968.

He was the only third New Zealander who passed 1000 test runs after John Reid and Bert Sutcliffe. In 2010, Sinclair was made the inaugural patron of the NZ Cricket Players' Association or in short, NZCPA, while in 2015 he was voted a Legend of Wellington Sport. His career was captured in the biography written by Auckland broadcaster, Bill Francis and published in 2016, called 'In Pursuit of Excellence: The Barry Sinclair Story'.