John Edrich passes away aged 83

Edrich represented his country in 77 Tests in an international career which spanned 13 years from 1963 to 1976. In this time, he scored 5,138 runs at 43.54, hitting 12 centuries

Former England batsman John Edrich has died at the age of 83.

Edrich represented his country in 77 Tests in an international career which spanned 13 years from 1963 to 1976. In this time, he scored 5,138 runs at 43.54, hitting 12 centuries.

The left-hander was one of only 25 men to score 100 first-class centuries. He represented Surrey between 1958 and 1978.

He also became the eighth man to score a triple century when he made an unbeaten 310 against New Zealand at Headingley in 1965 – an innings which included 52 fours and five sixes. Edrich was the first player to score a boundary in ODI cricket.

Edrich was diagnosed with the rare, and incurable, form of leukaemia known as Waldenstrom's in 2000.

Tom Harrison, ECB chief executive, paid tribute by saying: "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.

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"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."

Surrey marked Edrich's services in 2015 by opening the John Edrich Gates at the Pavilion End of the Kia Oval.

Surrey chairman Richard Thompson said: "John Edrich was truly one of the greatest players to ever play for our club and his passing is an incredibly sad moment for us all.

"From watching his brave and charismatic batting to sitting alongside him in our committee room and learning about the game, to have been able to call John a friend was a high honour.

"On behalf of everyone at the club, I would like to offer our condolences to all of John's friends, family and fans across the world - both inside and outside the game."

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