Glenn Turner is one of the greatest cricketers to play for both Otago and Worcester.
He was honoured for his contribution to Otago cricket at a test dinner in Dunedin last night.
He follows in the footsteps of Iain Gallaway, the doyen of cricket commentators, who received a similar honour last year.
Turner's reputation has always been high in Otago but it was not generally known how highly he is regarded in English cricket.
That was put right at the dinner in a speech by his old friend Percy Price, who is the chairman of the Worcester County Cricket Club.
He rated Turner as the greatest batsman to ever play for Worcester, ahead of Don Kenyon, Tom Graveney, Basil D'Oliveira and Graeme Hick.
''In my view, Glenn Turner was the best cricketer Worcester ever had,'' Price said.
The great English all-rounder Sir Ian Botham gave the special tribute speech to Turner at the dinner.
The other speakers were New Zealand coach Mike Hesson and the chief executive of Otago Cricket Ross Dykes.
Hesson said Turner had a big influence on his career.
''I was his understudy as assistant coach for Otago and we discussed many cricket issues on a daily basis,'' Hesson said. ''It was a great grounding in the art of coaching for me.
''He taught me that if you had an opinion you needed facts to back it up and that was a big part of what Glenn taught me.
''He was ahead of his time in coaching and especially on one-day cricket.''
Ronald Cardwell, the co-author of the book The Team that Never Played, about the Otago University cricket team involved in the Wahine disaster, came from Sydney for the test.
''I saw Glenn in the early 1970s when New Zealand came to Australia,'' he said.
''At the time, he was playing for Worcestershire and was a free-flowing cricketer who played all the shots.
''It's a long overdue honour and his contribution is something that New Zealand cricket needs to treasure and value.''
A member of the Warwickshire County Cricket Club committee, Paul Warren recalls sitting in the stand when Turner played against his county.
''He scored a hell of a lot of runs against Warwickshire for our arch-rivals Worcester,'' he quipped.
Turner admitted being slightly embarrassed by the tributes from both New Zealand and English cricket last night.
He grew up in southern New Zealand and typifies the approach of Southerners.
''You can't afford to be a skite,'' he said.
''Humility is encouraged, so what do I say.''
A life member of Otago Cricket, Stewart McKnight played cricket for Otago and rates Turner alongside the great Bert Sutcliffe as a player.
''They were two of the greatest players I've been involved with.''
