Former England Cricketer Jim Park Dies At Age 90
Former England and Sussex wicket-keeper, Jim Parks passed away at the age of 90,
Parks had played in 46 Tests between 1954 and 1968, making him England’s oldest living male Test cricketer at the time of his death. Parks was up in a cricketing household, with his father, Jim senior, uncle Harry, and son Bobby all having played first-class cricket. After 739 games for the club during a 23-year period, he was regarded as one of Sussex’s best-ever players. Parks accumulated 36,673 runs over this time period.
Jim Parks Took Wicket-Keeping Later In His Career
Parks, who was born in Haywards Heath, was first capped by England as a specialist batsman in 1954, despite the fact that he had previously proven to be an excellent fielder in a one-off Test.
Sussex required a wicketkeeper to replace Ruper Webb after he retired, so he took up wicketkeeping full-time in 1958.
This proved to be a crucial decision for his international career, as he was recalled to the national team shortly after accepting the gloves. He struck a century against the West Indies in Trinidad after his return, and he became England’s regular wicketkeeper in the mid-1960s.
With the bat, he averaged 32.16 for England, with the best score of 108 not out against South Africa in Durban in 1964 – and a massive total of 1,087 first-class catches and 94 stumpings.
Sussex released a statement which read: “Our thoughts and sincere condolences are very much with Jenny and with Jim’s son Bobby. The arrangements for Jim’s funeral will be announced in due course and the players of both teams will wear black armbands at Taunton tomorrow evening as a mark of respect to Jim, who will be sadly missed by all at Hove. Sussex announced he died in hospital in Worthing on Tuesday, following a fall at home last week. Until very recently he was a much-loved and frequent visitor to Hove, always taking a walk around the ground with his wife Jenny during play to meet friends and talk to supporters. Our thoughts and sincere condolences are very much with Jenny and with Jim’s children Bobby and Louise.”
Parks is survived by his wife Jenny, as well as his two children Bobby and Louise.
