Former England Batsman John Edrich Passes Away Aged 83

In what comes as another saddening news for the cricketing world, former England batsman John Edrich has died at the age of 83. Edrich died of natural causes on December 23 at his home in North Scotland.

A fearless left-hand opener, John Edrich represented England in 77 Tests between 1963 and 1976, scoring 5138 runs at 43.54 and close to 40000 First-Class runs for his county Surrey.

His finest hour in international cricket came during the triumphant 1970-71 Ashes campaign in which he racked up 648 runs at an average of 72.00, laying the cornerstone for a 2-0 victory.

Overall, John Edrich smashed 12 Test hundreds and 24 half-centuries, which includes a career-best 310 not-out against New Zealand at Leeds in 1965.

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

John Edrich also played a starring role in the first-ever One-day International played between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Infact, he was the one who scored the first-ever boundary in the format.

RIP John Edrich

Did you know he hit the very first boundary in One Day International cricket?

Here it is….MCG 1971 pic.twitter.com/vaj6TZ2VT0

— Rob Moody (@robelinda2) December 24, 2020

He scored an enterprising 119-ball 82- an innings that helped him win the ‘Player of the Match’ award. His Test career came to an end against the West Indies in 1976 at the very same venue where it all started- Old Trafford, Manchester.