The former Scotland captain, Craig Wright, has paid warm tribute to one of the grand old men of the Caledonian game, Gordon Baxter, who has died aged 95.

The north-east businessman, who turned Baxter's Foods from a small local firm, employing 11 workers in 1946 into a global company with 1300 staff, was a great patron of cricket in his homeland, whether nurturing his cherished local club, Fochabers, or investing in youth through a series of pioneering initiatives.

Basically, he was the sort of larger-than-life champion for the sport who helped transform attitudes in his homeland. As Wright said: "My memories of Gordon are all about his generosity and his passion and enthusiasm for the game of cricket and his local area. I was fortunate to be invited to fish with him twice on his beloved stretch of the Spey.

"Once, it was with Robin Smith and Allan Lamb and once with Rahul Dravid (illustrious company!) I didn't catch anything either time, but that didn't really matter. Gordon had developed friendships with many international cricketers through his touring overseas to watch England and subsequently inviting many of them with an interest in fishing to spend time up north with him (Sir Ian Botham was also a good pal and Australia's Matthew Hayden spent time up there when in the UK).

"He was always so proud to show people round the factory (everyone always went away with a goodie bag!) and tell the story about the history and heritage of the company.

"He was a staunch defender of retaining the Baxters roots in Fochabers and told me several times about the fierce takeover attempts by companies like Heinz which he would resist in favour of retaining their Scottish identity and ownership.

"He organised events to raise money for local cricket including an exhibition match for which I took a Saltires team up to play against Fochabers (with Smith and Lamb guesting) followed by a dinner. He also invested significant amounts of his own money in local cricket projects and more generally into the local community.

"He was a great man."

That tribute was echoed by Cricket Scotland's chief executive, Roddy Smith, who declared that he had never met anybody with more unbridled passion for cricket in all it's various guises than the redoubtable Baxter.

"He was a gentleman and, wherever he went, he just wanted to play cricket and watch cricket and talk cricket and encourage others to do the same," said Smith. "Fochabers was a special place to him, but he also helped create the indoor centre at Gordonstoun and he was simply in love with cricket."

He was and the Scottish scene will be the poorer for his passing.