Ray Illingworth, a former England captain, died on Saturday at the age of 89, according to his county, Yorkshire.
On Twitter, the county said, “We are profoundly saddened to learn that Ray Illingworth has died away.”
He had been having oesophageal cancer treatment.
Between 1958 and 1973, Ray Illingworth played 61 Tests for England and led the team 31 times, winning 12 matches including an Ashes series in Australia in 1970-1.
He was an all-rounder who averaged 23.24 in Test cricket and took 122 wickets with his off-spin bowling at 31.20.
Between 1993 and 1996, he served as chairman of the England selections and coached the squad in 1995-96.
Shirley Illingworth, Illingworth’s wife, died earlier this year following a battle with cancer, and Illingworth had advocated for reforms to the law regarding assisted dying.
“I don’t want to go through what my wife went through the last year,” he stated. “She was in excruciating pain as she went from hospital to hospital.”
Illingworth made his debut for his home county in 1955 and stayed with them until 1968 when he moved to Leicestershire to conclude his career. He was the captain of both counties.
“Illingworth’s greatest skill as captain was giving the appearance that he had 14 or 15 players on the pitch,” according to the specialist website Cricinfo.
