England’s former “fearless” opening batsman John Edrich passed away aged 83, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Friday.
103 centuries
Diagnosed with leukaemia in 2000 the left-hander, who played for county side Surrey, scored 103 First Class centuries. He played 77 Tests, scoring 5,138 runs at 43.54.
Former England great Ian Botham wrote on Twitter: “Very sad news today to wake up on Christmas Day and to be told that John Edrich has passed away !! A wonderful man who I was lucky enough to spend some quality time with...RIP.”
ECB CEO Tom Harrison said: “With John’s passing, we’ve lost a prolific and fearless batsman — one of the select few who have scored more than 5,000 runs for England.
His duels with some of the world’s best fast bowlers were legendary, and it’s a testament to his ability that his 310 not out against New Zealand in 1965 remains the fifth highest Test score by an English batsman.”