Former England captain Ray Illingworth has revealed he wants the right to end his own life after detailing his battle with cancer.
The 89-year-old, who skippered England to victory Down Under in the 1970-71 Ashes, is undergoing a course of radiotherapy for esophageal cancer.
Illingworth nursed late wife, Shirley, through her own cancer battle before she passed away in March this year. He now believes terminally ill patients should be given the opportunity to end their own lives.
The government of Jersey approved in principle legalised suicide last week, and a draft law could be voted on by 2023.
Currently, anyone helping someone else take their own life in the UK could face a jail term of up to 14 years.
The Assisted Dying Act, a proposed change to the law, was debated in October at the House of Lords.
"I don’t want to have the last 12 months that my wife had," Illingworth told The Telegraph. "She had a terrible time going from hospital to hospital and in pain. I don’t want that.
"I would rather go peacefully. I believe in assisted dying. The way my wife was, there was no pleasure in life in the last 12 months and I don’t see the point of living like that, to be honest.
"But we don’t have assisted dying in England yet so you don’t have the option do you? They are debating it and I think it will come eventually.
"A lot of doctors are against it but if they had to live like my wife did in her last 12 months they might change their minds."
Yorkshireman Illingworth played 61 Tests for England, scoring 1,836 runs including two centuries and five fifties.
An off-spinning all-rounder, he also claimed 122 wickets including three five-wicket hauls.
He lost just five of his 31 Tests as captain of the side, claiming 12 victories and 14 draws.
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