An outstanding wicket-keeper, either standing up to the stumps or standing back to the quick bowlers, Greg Dyer’s selection for New South Wales was delayed by the fine work of another excellent keeper from Wests, Steve Rixon.

Within seasons of his first appearance for New South Wales, Dyer made his Test debut against England in 1986-87, and he held his place throughout the following season, playing in Australia’s successful team in the 1987-88 World Cup Final against England in Calcutta.

An aggressive batsman (and compulsive hooker), he often contributed handy runs in the lower order, including a lively 60 against New Zealand in Adelaide.

His performances for Australia were uniformly impressive, and did not warrant his abruptly dropping at the end of 1987-88; it was generally thought that he was made a scapegoat for an incident in the Test against New Zealand in Melbourne, in which Andrew Jones was given out caught by Dyer, although Television replays revealed that the ball had bounced.

Half-way through the following season, he was summarily dropped from the New South Wales team, of which he was then captain, although he unquestionably remained the outstanding wicket-keeper in the state.

The dignified and graceful manner in which he dealt with these arbitrary and unjust decisions won him many admirers.

Joining Western Suburbs in the Green Shield team at the age of 13, Dyer reached First Grade two years later. He was an inspirational captain of First Grade in 1984-85 leading his team to the final.

Greg Dyer is the current President of the Australian Cricketers Association.