Oldest Living First-Class Cricketer Alan Burgess Passes Away At 100

A piece of the sad news coming from Canterbury, New Zealand revealed that all-rounder, Alan Burgess has passed away on Wednesday (January 6) in his sleep at the age of 100 years and 250 days at Charles Upham Retirement Village in Rangiora.

Alan Burgess, a right-hand batsman and a left-arm off-spinner, played 11 first-class matches for Canterbury between 1940-41 and 1951-52 out of 14 first-class games overall.  He took 6-52 on debut against Otago at Lancaster Park in a career that began on Christmas Day 1940. He made 466 first-class runs at an average of 22.19 and picked up 16 wickets at an average of 30.68.

“NZC is saddened to learn of the passing of the world’s oldest-living first-class cricketer, Alan Burgess. Alan’s daughter Pip said her father died overnight in his sleep, aged 100, at the Charles Upham Retirement Village in Rangiora,” tweeted New Zealand cricket.

Pip revealed that her father Alan Burgess had spent much of Tuesday watching New Zealand defeat Pakistan in Christchurch on TV as Kane Williamson brought up his double century and led the Kiwis to the top of the ICC Test team rankings.

Alan Burgess served in World War II

Alan Burgess was born May 1, 1920, in Christchurch. Apart from playing cricket, he also served for New Zealand Services in England in 1945 at the end of World War II. According to a report in the New Zealand Herald, Burgess was a tank driver. The report also said that Burgess’ father was a World War I veteran and a cricket umpire.

In August 2017, Burgess became New Zealand’s oldest living first-class cricketer following the death of Tom Pritchard, and now after Burgess’ demise, India’s Raghunath Chandorkar the oldest living first-class cricketer in the world. Chandorkar turned 100 on November 21, 2020. Otago’s Iain Gallaway, aged 98, is now the oldest first-class cricketer in New Zealand.

“Otago’s Iain Gallaway, aged 98, is now NZ’s oldest surviving first-class cricketer. We understand Indian player Raghunath Chandorkar now takes over the mantle as the world’s oldest surviving,” Blackcaps tweeted.

https://twitter.com/BLACKCAPS/status/1346578125669339136

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