It is doubtful if anyone has made a bigger contribution to New Zealand cricket as a player and selector than former Otago pace bowler Frank Cameron.
Remarkably, he was part of all but two of New Zealand's first 21 victories, either as a player or selector.
It took years of sweat and toil before he gained his first New Zealand cap at the age of 28 - his omission from the team which toured England in 1958 was regarded as a major blunder - and he was one of the trump cards in the 2-2 drawn series in South Africa in 1961-62.
And, as chairman of selectors, he brought stability and consistency (and success) to the national team.
Cameron was an astute thinker of the game and one of his behind-the-scenes ploys was a major factor in New Zealand's dramatic one-wicket win over the West Indies at Carisbrook in 1980.
Realising the Windies most potent weapon was their intimidatory fast bowling battery, Cameron called spinner John Bracewell into the squad at the last minute and made the public comment that he expected the pitch to turn.
Privately, Cameron had no intention of playing Bracewell but the West Indies - thinking Cameron was making use of his Dunedin local knowledge - fell for the bait and did tit for tat by including off-spinner Derek Parry.
Parry was brought on to rest the pacemen in the first innings and the batting assault launched on him by Lance Cairns and Sir Richard Hadlee proved the difference in what was such a tight, low-scoring test.
That was Frank Cameron.
Shrewd, a thinker who squeezed everything out of his own ability and later that of the players he selected.
He had more than 25 years' continual association with New Zealand teams from the time of his belated debut in 1960, a record almost certainly unique in the national summer game.
Cameron the player was as methodical and organised as Cameron the person - a brisk, upright walk back to his mark; a hitch of the trousers and a passing of the hand over the forehead; and then a sharp, arrow-straight run to the wicket to deliver another ball, all the time thinking and probing for the batting weaknesses.
The high point of his career was the tour of South Africa.
He took seven for 27 against West Australia in Perth (his best analysis) en route and never looked back.
He claimed 77 wickets on tour and 20 wickets (average 24.65) in the tests and was one of the heroes of New Zealand's success in the five-match series.
Dick Whitington, the prominent journalist, wrote: "You had to watch Cameron's bowling from behind the arm to appreciate its quality.
Hardly an over passed without at least one magnificent delivery."
John Reid, who reached his batting peak on that tour, said: "Frank's role on that tour changed from being a stock bowler to a leading strike bowler because of heat and injuries taking their toll on our other main strike bowlers, Gary Bartlett and Dick Motz.
He was a trusted, solid, uncomplaining team-man, a real trier and a great team-man."
Reid recalled a match in Harare in which Cameron bowled most of the afternoon and, when he changed after the game, his socks and boots were soaked in blood - he must have been in a lot of discomfort but he never said anything about it.
Cameron took five-wickets bags in the drawn second test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg and in the third test at Newlands in Cape Town, New Zealand's first test win overseas.
Cameron relished the conditions, both in South Africa and Australia.
"In both countries the wickets were hard and bouncy but you could still get the ball to move a bit," he told me.
"Nicks would carry into the slips and get caught. That's not always the case in New Zealand.
"If you bowled badly in Australia and South Africa you got hammered because they were very true wickets; but if you bowled well you would get the batsmen out."
Cameron rated the late Ken Barrington (England) as the most difficult batsman he bowled to but would not go past Bert Sutcliffe when talking about batting greats.
"Bert usually batted in weak sides and yet he was still a great player.
"He didn't look after his record or chase statistics. He was a marvellous batsman to watch."
Cameron twice took hat tricks in senior cricket - for Otago against Northern Districts in 1962-63 (Russell Hendry and Noel McGregor took catches and Cameron held a caught and bowled) and for the Dunedin club against Grange in 1968.
He claimed more than 1000 wickets for the Dunedin club.
His best haul was when he took 89 wickets (average 8.11) in 1962-63 and he once took all 10 wickets in an innings - 10 for 66 against High School Old Boys in 1968.
His first-class career began in 1952 and ended against Australia at Carisbrook in 1967 when he took five for 36, the wickets of Les Favell, Norman O'Neill, Ken Cunningham, Davies and Barry Jarman.
"That was a nice way to finish my first-class career," he recalled.
"The conditions suited me and I hardly ever bowled better than that."
He was a bowler of immense stamina, a rarity in his playing days because he supplemented his work in the nets with plenty of running.
"There were not many who trained very hard away from the nets in my day," he said.
"I suppose I was one of the few first-class players who spent a large amount of time training in the off-season."
Cameron was an extremely stubborn No 11 batsman with a decent technique who was not out in 20 of his 30 test innings and averaged in double figures.
But for those who thought Cameron was only a nudger and deflector, he was once awarded the Bernstein Trophy for the fastest Dunedin senior club century.
Cameron taught at Otago Boys' High School for 33 years from 1956 to 1989 and held the position of deputy rector.
He coached the first XV for 15 years and it was unbeaten for the last 10.
He was also an extremely successful coach of the school cross-country team.
Cameron made an almost immediate transition from New Zealand player to selector.
"I had been a tour selector and I virtually just continued selecting my fellow players for the next few years - the Congdons, and Dowlings and so on.
"Then we gradually introduced new players.
"You've really got to go through the whole game, just as players do.
"I lived each ball during a test and I think most selectors do.
"At the same time you can't become one of the boys because, as a selector, you've got to do some rather unpleasant things at times.
"You've got to be able to stand back and look at things from the outside.
"There was a time when we seemed to be chasing instant results.
"If someone failed a couple of times he was out and another fellow brought in.
"It was a case of chasing around in circles.
"It's important to have a policy of consistent selection."
Cameron was a national selector from 1968 and was convener of the panel for more than a decade from 1975 until the late 1980s, New Zealand's most successful era in international cricket.
Cameron these days lives in retirement in Christchurch and remains an avid follower of the game.
Frank Cameron
Born: Dunedin, June 1, 1932.
Career span: 1952-53 to 1966-67.
Test career: 19 tests. Bowling, 62 wickets (average 29.82); best bowling, five for 34; five wickets in an innings three times. Batting, 116 runs (average 11.60), highest score 27 not out.
First-class: 119 matches.
Bowling: 447 wickets (average 21.60); best bowling, seven for 27; five wickets in an innings 21 times. Batting: 993 runs (average 11.82), highest score 43.
Otago record: 68 matches.
Bowling: 258 wickets (average 20.17).
