LONDON: Former England batsman John Edrich, who made more than 100 first-class centuries, has died at the age of 83, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Friday.

Edrich scored more than 5,000 runs for England during a 77-match Test career, including 12 centuries. The former Surrey captain notched 103 hundreds and more than 39,000 runs in first-class cricket.

“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,” ECB chief executive officer Tom Harrison said in a statement. “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. He will be sadly missed, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Edrich, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2000, made his Test debut against West Indies in 1963, ending his career at the highest level against the same opposition in 1976 when Clive Lloyd led a fearsome pace trio of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and Wayne Daniel.

Former England all-rounder Ian Botham led the tributes.

“Very sad news today to wake up on Christmas Day and to be told that John Edrich has passed away!!,” former England skipper Botham said on Twitter. “A wonderful man who I was lucky enough to spend some quality time with... RIP.”

Former England and Surrey batsman Mark Butcher said: “A Test triple-centurion and @surreycricket legend. #RIP”.

Edrich, who retired with 5,138 Test runs at an average of 43.54, played in the first-ever One-day International, against Australia at Melbourne in January 1971, hitting the first boundary, making the first half-century and being named man-of-the-match.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2020