Graham Edward Reed OAM
Graham Reed, who died on 5 November 2025, aged 90, gave remarkable service to the game of cricket in New South Wales over several decades.
Graham was educated at Trinity Grammar School, Summer Hill, where his talent as a cricketer was quickly recognised. He spent four years in the school’s 1st XI, mostly as a batsman, although he kept wicket at times, and occasionally bowled. He was also a centre in the 1st XV, a prominent sprinter, and, in 1951, captain of the school. After he enrolled to study Pharmacy he began to play cricket for Sydney University in 1954-55, making an immediate impression in Second Grade with an innings of 86 against Mosman in Second Grade, followed by two top-scoring efforts of 36 and 50 in team totals of 77 and 103 against Gordon. In his first match in First Grade, he contributed 28 and 13 not out to University’s win over Waverley.
He was a regular member of the side in 1955-56, when he won a Blue. Against Balmain in November 1955, University lost its first three wickets for only 22 runs against State opening bowler Arthur Fagan, and then struggled against NSW leg-spinner Reg Pearce, but Graham stood firm, hitting his only First Grade century – 104 in a total of 203. It was Reed’s only century for the club. He also picked up his only First Grade wicket when he had Petersham’s future Test all-rounder, Johnny Martin, caught by Jim Mackie. He was a forthright, attacking batsman, especially powerful through the on side.
1956-57 was a less memorable season: although University reached the semi-final, Graham lost his place in the team after a mid-season trip to the Olympic Games in Melbourne. His attitude towards cricket that season, he later admitted, was not good; but he never regretted the trip to Melbourne, because he later married his companion on it, Jo, a union that endured until his death.
After graduation, Graham embarked on a lengthy career as a pharmacist, and he played some more Grade cricket with Mosman. When his Grade career was over, he remained active as a club cricketer, especially for I Zingari Australia. He is the second-highest run-scorer in I Zingari history, racking up 12,675 runs at an average of 30.11, with nine centuries. He toured New Zealand with I Zingari (playing innings of 85 and 88) and also joined the Australian Old Collegians on their 1972 world tour.
Eventually, in 1964, Graham moved into umpiring. He stood in 161 Grade matches, 80 of them in First Grade and he was promoted to umpire in the Sheffield Shield in 1987-88. In Sydney, he was known as a fair and accurate umpire, who established a good rapport with the players. It needs to be said that this view was not universally shared, because his fifth Shield match, against Queensland in Newcastle, became memorably controversial. It was an extraordinary match: the New South Wales team was so badly affected by a virus that at one point four substitutes were on the field. Umpire Ian Thomas also fell victim to the virus, and was compelled to leave the field. A local Newcastle umpire, Cec Somerville, took Thomas’ place, but only at square leg, while Graham umpired at the bowler’s end throughout the final day. The match referee then forced Somerville from the field because he was incorrectly dressed, and another local umpire took his place. New South Wales won a tight game by 32 runs, but the Queenslanders were angry about decisions made against Greg Ritchie (caught behind from Mark Waugh’s bowling) and Allan Border (lbw to Geoff Lawson). Ritchie, the Queensland captain, delivered an angry outburst to the match referee but the New South Wales captain, Lawson, declared himself perfectly satisfied with the umpiring. Reed’s own response was that “if the pitch is good, the umpiring is good. And the pitch was good.”
Altogether, Graham stood in 13 first-class matches and four List A matches between 1987-88 and 1991-92. He also umpired in two Women’s Tests and five Women’s One Day Internationals. But his service to the game did not end when he retired from umpiring. For 33 consecutive seasons, he acted as an umpire observer and mentor, attending Grade games to provide assistance and feedback to new generations of umpires. As recently as last season, after recovering from a very serious illness a few years ago, Graham could be seen at Grade grounds, where he usually positioned himself somewhere near the sightscreen and quietly observed the umpires at work.
His work was recognised when he won the George Borwick Memorial Award in 1984-85, and when he was awarded Life membership of the NSWCUSA in 2000. He was inducted into the NSWCUSA Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2023, he received Life Membership of the SCA in 2023 and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to cricket. Announcing his death, the NSWCUSA observed that
Above and beyond the raw statistics and his considerable achievements, Graham Reed was the most exemplary person and such a highly respected man and umpire. He was appreciated for the quality of his decision making under pressure, his exemplary people and communication skills, his ability to positively and proactively manage cricket players and matches, his remarkable volunteer service to the umpiring community, his always positive attitude, his willingness to share experience to benefit others, his resilience, and his integrity. Graham Reed was a selfless and humble person and leader, one of the most genuine people you could hope to meet.
The club extends its sympathies to Graham’s family, especially his wife Joanne, his daughter Christine and his son Stuart
Max Bonnell
