Wisden Obituaries - 2013

AHMED MUSTAFA, who died on August 10, would have been only ten years old - and the youngest-ever first-class cricketer - when he made his debut in February 1955, if his stated date of birth (March 7, 1944) was correct. However, Qamar Ahmed - a journalist who played against him in the 1950s - met Mustafa a few months before his death, and was told he was actually about 15 when he appeared for a Pakistan Schools XI against the 1954-55 Indian tourists at Karachi. So he was probably 74 when he died after suffering head injuries in a fall in his bathroom. A stylish batsman good enough to tour England as vice-captain of a Pakistan Eaglets team, Mustafa played on to 1970, and scored 110 for Karachi C against Sind A (and Qamar Ahmed's bowling) in 1957-58. A car accident ended his career, but in 1987 he set up a coaching centre in Karachi, where his charges included Pakistan's Faisal Iqbal and England's Owais Shah.

ALLEN, STANLEY ROWLATT, MBE, who died on December 22, aged 95, was Sussex's secretary for four years from 1976, a period that included the World Series Cricket upheaval - initial details of which emerged during the touring Australians' match at Hove in May 1977. Former Sussex captain John Barclay said: "At the time Stanley arrived at Hove, Sussex cricket was at a bit of a low ebb and he breathed fresh air into the management team." Allen had also done some cricket commentary for Radio Brighton, where he worked with Desmond Lynam; in 1980 he returned to his career as a solicitor.

ALLITT, INEZ, OAM, died on December 10, aged 88. "Mary" Allitt played 11 Tests for Australia, the last three of them as captain of the 1963 side to England. One of 12 children born into a farming family near Deniliquin, on the plains of south-west New South Wales, she learned her cricket playing with her brothers at home and with the other pupils at the one-teacher school at Pretty Pine. This background left her adept at cutting, as she used the pace of the boys' bowling to great effect on a concrete pitch. Four Allitt sisters played for Deniliquin against the touring England women's side in 1948-49, when Mary showed her defensive capabilities with 56 out of a total of 96.

Although she did little in the Tests in England in 1951, Allitt did hit 150 against West Women at Cheltenham, dominating an unfinished opening stand of 218 with Joan Schmidt. On the 1963 tour, she made 76 at Scarborough, the innings of her Test career, putting on 125 with Miriam Knee after they had come together at 51 for five. Australia eventually reached 225, but - mainly thanks to thick fog which swallowed up two hours on the last day - England just managed to avoid defeat, crawling to 93 for nine in 92 overs.

After her retirement, Allitt and her husband, former rodeo horseman Tom Loy, spent over 30 years developing the equestrian skills of local children. She remained active in administering women's cricket, and her work in both arenas was recognised by the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2007. James Sutherland, Cricket Australia's chief executive, paid tribute: "Mary and her team-mates were trailblazers of the game, and she led [them] through a significant period of societal change, helping to pave the way for today's elite players." Norma Whiteman, a fellow tourist in 1951, added: "Mary's cricket reflected her personality: well organised, thoughtful and understated."

AZAD, DESH PREM, who died on August 16, aged 75, played 19 matches in a first-class career that stretched for 19 years - but is best remembered as the coach and mentor of Kapil Dev. "If I achieved anything," said Kapil, "a lot of the credit goes to him." Azad also had a hand in the careers of three other Test cricketers from Haryana: Chetan Sharma, Ashok Malhotra and Yograj Singh (father of Yuvraj). In 1986, not long after Kapil led India to victory in the World Cup, Azad became one of the first recipients of the Indian government's new Dronacharya Award for sports coaching. His highest score was 83, for Southern Punjab against Services in Delhi in 1960-61, made in the follow-on after the whole side had been shot out for 83 in the first innings.

BASHIR AHMED BASTI, who died on January 4, aged 88, was the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan between 1965 and 1971. He played two first-class matches in India before Partition, opening the bowling and taking eight for 42 in the first innings of his debut, for United Provinces against Bengal at Kanpur in 1945-46. BELLANY, JOHN, CBE, RA, who died on August 28, aged 71, was an acclaimed Scottish artist, famous for his colourful figurative paintings, many of which featured fishermen from Port Seton, the village in which he grew up. But one, in 1985, depicted Ian Botham, then in the "flower power" stage of his career. The subject was unimpressed: "If an alien landed on the planet with explicit instructions to find Ian Botham and the only thing he had to go on was that picture, he'd never find me in a million years," he grumbled in his 1994 autobiography. "I'm not one who goes in for vandalism, but in this case I'd make an exception." The oil painting is now in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Bellany died in his studio, according to his family, paintbrush in hand.

BREWER, ROBERT, who died on November 9, aged 90, was known as the grandfather of women's cricket in Sydney, pioneering a number of initiatives, such as a night competition. From 1990, he served as a New South Wales selector, and his discerning judgment fostered the talents of Alex and Kate Blackwell, Lisa Sthalekar, Alyssa Healy and Ellyse Perry. The Sydney women's Under-17 grade competition bears his name.

BRUCE, STEPHEN DANIEL, who died on December 12, aged 59, was a useful wicketkeeper-batsman who had a long career in South African domestic cricket, mostly for Western Province. In 1972-73 he had a season with Orange Free State, and made 149 - his first century - against Natal B, sharing a seventh-wicket stand of 155 with Colin Bland. Bruce made four other hundreds, including 176 for Western Province B against Transvaal B in 1982-83.

BULL, CHARLES ARTHUR, died on May 7, aged 91. Intimately associated with the South Perth club as both player and administrator, Charlie Bull became scorer at the WACA, establishing a reputation for meticulous accuracy. Between 1980-81 and 2003-04 he recorded 76 first-class matches, including ten Tests. Bull delighted in his scoresheet of Matthew Hayden's 380 against Zimbabwe in October 2003, during which he ran out of room to record the new Test-record innings, and had to resort to the space reserved for the twelfth man. Both the scoresheet and Bull's work were mentioned in Hayden's autobiography.

CASHELL, HENRY DESMOND, died on October 6, aged 92. A wicketkeeper and handy club batsman, Des Cashell was better known as an Irish cricket administrator, including several years as a national selector. He was president of the Irish Cricket Union in 1981.

CLARK, DAVID GRAHAM, who died on October 8, aged 94, shared with Lord Harris the distinction of being captain, chairman and president of Kent, and also held a number of high-profile positions with MCC. A gentleman farmer, he maintained Corinthian ideals on the game, yet was caught in a number of controversies. Chief among these was as manager of the England team during the incendiary Ashes tour of 1970-71, when he clashed frequently with the captain, Ray Illingworth, and was on the receiving end of a withering blast from fast bowler John Snow. Clark was also chairman of the ICC at the height of their battle with Kerry Packer, and in the mid-1960s headed an MCC report into the state of the domestic game which was rubbished by the counties.

Clark was educated at Rugby, and during the war served in the 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment in North Africa and Sicily before being captured and taken prisoner at Arnhem. He was 27 when he made his Kent debut in 1946, and assumed the captaincy three years later. These were thin times for the county, but his team-mate, wicketkeeper Derek Ufton, said: "He did a tremendous job in the circumstances. He was a Kent gentleman.

Before we went up north to play Yorkshire, for instance, he would stress that we had to behave properly - then we would lose in a day and a half." He stood down after Kent came second-bottom in 1951, finishing his playing career with 1,959 runs at just under 16 in 75 matches. His highest score was 78, against Surrey at The Oval, in his final summer.

Clark first served on the MCC committee in 1959, and was manager of the tour of India in 1963-64. The night before the Second Test at Bombay he had to tell Henry Blofeld, covering the trip as a freelance, that he might be required to play, such was England's crisis with injury and illness. When Clark was asked to manage the team in Australia in 1970-71, it proved a more bruising experience. His appointment had been made in expectation of Colin Cowdrey's return to the captaincy.

Illingworth later took exception to a newspaper article in which Clark criticised England for bowling too many bouncers in the Second Test at Perth, and said it would be better for Australia to win the series than for the Tests to be uninspiring draws. "I didn't mind him as a man at all," said Illingworth, "but we did not get on cricket-wise."

When the Third Test at Melbourne was washed out, Clark agreed to a 40-over match to compensate spectators - unwittingly playing a key role in the creation of the one-day international - and also an additional Test at Sydney at the end of the tour. The players, who were not consulted or initially offered any payment, were furious, and agreed to take part only after a militant meeting in Illingworth's hotel room. In that explosive extra Test, he led his team off the SCG when beer cans were thrown at Snow, only to be met by the manager telling him he had to get back out and play. The captain was not impressed, and neither was the target: "Snowy joined in," Illingworth later wrote, "and got rather a lot off his chest."

In the mid-1960s, Clark chaired an MCC subcommittee with a brief to examine every aspect of the ailing county game. The final report was voluminous, but its main recommendations - a revamped Championship including Sunday play, and a one-day league - were greeted with disdain by many of the counties. "A mountain of labour produced a mouse of achievement," groaned Wisden. But the one-day league came into being three years later.

Clark was president of MCC in 1978-79, a role that came with chairmanship of the ICC attached, and was pitched headlong into the Packer affair. His diplomatic skills were fully tested as he tried to persuade national boards to fund the costs of ICC's failed legal action against the players. Clark remained implacably opposed to Packer, and stood down from the Kent committee when the county's four World Series Cricket players were reinstated.

He became MCC treasurer in 1980, but resigned as a gesture of solidarity when his friend Jack Bailey was forced out as secretary seven years later. Clark was chairman of Kent between 1970 and 1974, and president in 1990. Happily, there was no lasting rift with Illingworth, who said: "We always got on well and he was complimentary about my captaincy whenever I went down to Canterbury with Leicestershire."

COMMINS, JOHN EUGENE, was killed by intruders at his home in South Africa on January 2. He was 71, and had played ten matches for Western Province during the 1960s, taking five for 32 with his leg-breaks against Eastern Province at Cape Town in January 1961. His son, Donne, was the agent for several prominent players, including Mark Boucher, who cancelled his farewell parade planned for the New Year Test against New Zealand at Cape Town a few days later; flags at Newlands flew at half mast instead. His nephew, also John Commins, played three Tests for South Africa in 1994-95.

DE ALWIS, RONALD GUY, died of cancer on January 12, aged 52. Guy de Alwis was a tall wicketkeeper who played in 11 of Sri Lanka's early Tests in the 1980s, usually vying for a place with Amal Silva, a better batsman but inferior gloveman. "He was one of the best wicketkeepers produced by Sri Lanka," said Arjuna Ranatunga, their long time captain and a team-mate at the Sinhalese Sports Club. De Alwis was not a rabbit with the bat: his two international fifties came in the space of three days during the 1983 World Cup in England. He became a selector, and also coached the national women's team, later marrying one of his former charges, Rasanjali Chandima Silva, who played one women's Test, in 1998.

DE MESQUITA, SAMUEL NORMAN BUENO, died on July 25, aged 81. Norman de Mesquita, scion of an old Sephardi Jewish family, was a much underrated cricket commentator. In the 1970s and '80s, as sports editor of BBC Radio London, he would take over the station to broadcast single-handed on Sunday League matches. Almost unique among cricket journalists in actually enjoying the 40-over game, he conveyed his relish to the listeners with great skill. His authoritative voice gave him regular work as an announcer at Middlesex outgrounds, tennis tournaments and - a sport he loved - ice hockey. But like a county stalwart whose face doesn't quite fit, he never caught the radio selectors' eye for a crack at the big time. Even after the Sunday coverage was axed, "Mosquito" was a regular at Lord's, and would assiduously keep score in the press box, to the point of sonorously announcing "halfway!" after 27.3 overs of a 55-over Benson and Hedges Cup innings: he was truly a natural broadcaster. His voice was cruelly weakened after illness in 1999, but he continued to write for The Times and Wisden. He was the Almanack's Middlesex correspondent from 1994 until he died, and his early-season 2013 match reports are in this edition. Norman loved Lord's and, until the 2013 Ashes, was proud to have attended at least a day of every post-war Test there, including the 1945 Victory Tests. A teetotal bachelor, he adored the camaraderie of colleagues.

DIAS, SYLVESTER ALLAN SOLAMAN, who died on December 1, aged 76, was an opening bowler swift enough to earn the nickname "Typhoon" from admiring team-mates and opponents in Ceylon. He took five wickets - all current or future Test players - on his first-class debut as the Ceylon Board President's XI beat a Pakistan A touring team in August 1964. Dias played only four more first-class matches (opportunities at home were rare), but spent eight years in England, where he appeared in the northern leagues.

DIXON, GRAHAM JOHN, who died on July 27, aged 61, saw Queensland's promise develop into achievement, with seven Sheffield Shield titles and five one-day successes during his tenure as the state cricket association's chief executive from 1996. He supported the appointments as coach of John Buchanan and, later, Darren Lehmann, and drove the development of new headquarters at the Allan Border Field. Queensland Cricket chairman Jim Holding said: "We will miss his counsel, his generosity, his willingness to embrace innovation and think laterally."

DOLLERY, KEITH ROBERT, who died on August 18, aged 88, was an itinerant seamer who played two matches for his native Queensland in 1947-48, two for Auckland in 1949-50, and three for Tasmania in 1950-51, before moving to England to spend two years qualifying for Warwickshire. Once eligible, he took 74 wickets in 1953, including a hat-trick against Gloucestershire at Bristol, which gave him match figures of ten for 60.

Dollery was capped the following year, after 72 more wickets, with a career-best eight for 42 against Sussex at Edgbaston - "swinging the ball in the heavy atmosphere," according to Wisden. He claimed another hat-trick, against Kent at Coventry in 1956, but that was his final county season. He was not related to Tom Dollery, his captain at Edgbaston.

DRUKER, KALMAN GORDON, died on June 16, aged 78. "Clem" Druker was the first president of the unified Western Province Cricket Association after South Africa's readmission. A lawyer specialising in the entertainment business, Druker had arranged the first floodlit match in Cape Town, in the late 1970s, and later helped found a cricket club - VOB Cavaliers - which welcomed players of all races.

DURITY, LEO ANTHONY, who died on May 13, aged 72, was a stalwart of Irish cricket, a stylish batsman who captained Cork County CC after moving from his native Trinidad. He also represented Munster over some 20 seasons - he was president of the Munster Cricket Union at the time of his death - and served on the board of Cricket Ireland.

ENGLAND, ERNEST JAMES, died on December 7, 2012, aged 85. England's medical studies required him to criss-cross the Nullarbor in order to study at the universities of Western Australia and Adelaide, and his sporting skills earned him selection at cricket and hockey for both states. Short and compact, he was a sound and entertaining batsman, who made a bright 102 for South Australia against Victoria in November 1951. Two years later, in his final first-class match, he made a more sedate 71 for Western Australia against his former team, adding 161 with future Test player John Rutherford.

FELLOWS-SMITH, JONATHAN PAYN, died on September 28, aged 81. Jon "Pom Pom" Fellows-Smith was a well-built all-rounder who played four Tests for South Africa on their 1960 tour of England, an ill-starred venture memorable for Geoff Griffin being no-balled for throwing at Lord's. Fellows-Smith was chosen largely because of his experience in England - he won three Oxford Blues in the 1950s, and also had a season with Northamptonshire - though he was not initially seen as a Test player. But he made a century against Essex in his first innings of the tour, then took six for 37 with his bouncy medium-pacers as Glamorgan were demolished in the last match before the First Test. "He is a most resolute character," wrote the touring South African journalist Charles Fortune.

"His burly frame and square protruding jaw are outward evidence of his innate grit and determination." But Fellows-Smith did little of note in the Tests. He soon settled in England, and played only three more, scattered, first-class games - finishing with averages of 29 in batting and bowling. Back in 1957, he had made a sensational start to his brief county career, hitting 109 (with six sixes) and 65 not out against Sussex at Hove on Championship debut, and 90 in his next game, at home to Kent. His efforts helped Northamptonshire to second in the table - equalling what remains their best Championship finish - although they were never really within sight of runaway leaders Surrey. A fine allround sportsman, Fellows-Smith was also a rugby Blue, and late in life won an age-group tennis championship at Wimbledon. He became unpopular in South Africa by writing, in The Cricketer in 1961, in praise of Basil D'Oliveira in a perceptive article, which concluded: "If the game can conceivably be used as a force to unite conflicting racial groups, there seems to be no reason why South African cricket should not recover from its present malaise."

FITZGERALD, JAMES FRANCIS, who died on April 21, aged 67, was a slow leftarmer who played 15 matches for Cambridge University in the 1960s, winning a Blue in 1968, his final year. Almost half his career haul of 29 wickets came in his first two games, as a freshman in 1966, when he followed six for 70 on debut against Essex with seven in the match against Middlesex. Fitzgerald played a few non-first-class matches for Warwickshire in 1971, and also represented Cambridgeshire. He taught biology at Eton for 20 years, before qualifying as a solicitor.

FRANCIS, KANDIAH THIRUGNANSAMPANDAPILLAI, died on June 9, aged 73. "KT" Francis umpired in Sri Lanka's inaugural Test, against England in Colombo in February 1982, and went on to stand in 24 further Test matches and 56 one-day internationals. He became an early member of the ICC's international panel, before bowing out shortly after the 1999 World Cup. Against England in Colombo in March 1993, Francis gave an unamused Neil Fairbrother run out, after the bowler - who had prematurely dislodged the bails - uprooted the stumps. When a spectator remonstrated with him later, Francis took him to the pavilion and calmly showed him a copy of the Laws, which backed up his decision, then asked him to apologise.

FRANKISH, RONALD RICHARD, died on October 17, aged 88. Ron Frankish never quite fulfilled his promise for Western Australia. He made a fine century against Victoria in 1949-50, countering the mystery spin of Jack Iverson, who was creating havoc during his debut season. Frankish was adaptable, either adhesive or attacking as the situation demanded, but the scores dried up as the years passed. He was adaptable with the ball too, bowling either medium-pace or off-breaks, although his quicker one was delivered with a suspicious kink, and he was once called for throwing. He was selected in the All-Australian baseball team of 1948.

FREEMAN, DOUGLAS PERCY, who died on April 3, aged 98, was a long-serving Dorset left-hander - and a cousin of the legendary Kent and England leg-spinner "Tich", who took 304 first-class wickets in 1928. This Freeman - whose father represented Essex - played one first-class match for Kent in 1937, the year after Tich's retirement, but failed to reach double figures in either innings in a thumping defeat by Somerset at Bath, and was never selected again. He was the last surviving Kent player who appeared before the Second World War.

GERAS, NORMAN, died on October 18, aged 70. Norm Geras was an expert in Marxist thought who spent 36 years as an academic at Manchester University, latterly as professor of government. He was also a devoted cricket lover, with a huge library. These two strands of his life came together on the web when he retired in 2003 and began Normblog, an unusually successful and popular representative of the genre, in which he mixed hard-core political argument with a lot of cricket and many other enthusiasms (see Cricket and Blogs, page 165). Politically, Geras was always on the left, but he was a staunch proponent of the Iraq war. He was equally idiosyncratic in his cricket: born in Bulawayo, he spent most of his life in England, yet always supported Australia. He wrote a zestful and very personal book (with Ian Holliday) on the 1997 Ashes, and another on the 2001 series, while one of his last web postings was what he called a "bleg", asking his thousands of followers whether Australia finished the Third Test of 1881-82 on 64 for four or 66 for four (64 was right, he concluded).

GHATAK, ANUP, who died on September 26, aged 72, was a hard-working medium pacer who played 33 matches for Assam over 13 seasons from 1963-64. He was the first to take 100 wickets for them, finishing with 120 at 22, a sterling performance in a modest team. Ghatak, who also represented East Zone in the Duleep Trophy, never improved on seven for 90 against Bihar in only his second match, at Jamshedpur in December 1963.

GIBSON, ALFRED LEWIS, died on June 28, aged 101. Fred Gibson was born in rural Jamaica, but stayed in England after serving in the RAF during the war. After some useful batting performances for Leicestershire in one-day games in 1945, he joined the staff - on £2 a week - when first-class cricket resumed the following year, but made little impression before badly breaking his arm in a car accident. Gibson was not re-engaged, but continued to play club cricket until his late fifties. An employee of Rolls-Royce, he sometimes surprised opponents by arriving in one of the company's cars - perhaps incongruously, he became a Labour councillor. In 2012 Gibson became the first Leicestershire player known to have reached 100 years of age, and when he died the only older surviving county cricketer was Cyril Perkins - who passed away himself in 2013.

HANUMANTHA RAO, S. N., who died on July 29, aged 83, was an umpire from Bangalore who stood in nine Tests between 1978-79 and 1983-84, as well as two one-day internationals. In the Test at Bombay in February 1980 which marked the golden jubilee of the Indian board, Hanumantha Rao gave Bob Taylor out caught behind - but India's captain, Gundappa Viswanath, was convinced Taylor had not touched it, and persuaded Rao to reverse his decision, a sporting gesture which arguably cost his side victory in a low-scoring game. Later, Rao gave Geoff Boycott out caught behind down the leg side off Kapil Dev, but Boycott turned his back and prepared for the next delivery. To Kapil's chagrin, Rao eventually lowered his finger.

HARRIS, RONALD GEORGE, died on February 1, aged 80. Sydney umpire "Rocky" Harris stood in a solitary international match - but it was a landmark, the first official one day international under floodlights, between Australia and West Indies at Sydney in November 1979. He also umpired 13 first-class games, later managed New South Wales youth teams, and was in charge of the visitors' dressing-room at the SCG for 15 years until 2012. He kept his own honours board there, logging notable events on the front of a large wooden cupboard: the tradition started in 1999, when South Australia's Mark Harrity was out first ball and kicked it, whereupon Harris wrote his name on the dent.

HEARN, PETER, died on March 25, aged 87. When the elegant, left-handed Peter Hearn made a century on debut for Kent in 1947, he raised premature and unrealistic expectations that the county had unearthed a successor to Frank Woolley. The burden proved too much. It was not that his dream start at Gillingham's Garrison ground, against a Warwickshire attack that included the pace of Tom Pritchard and the spin of Eric Hollies, was a fluke: on his day, Hearn rivalled the most attractive batsmen in the country. But as his career progressed, those days grew infrequent.

Cricket was an inescapable part of Hearn's upbringing in a cottage on the boundary of the Nevill Ground at Tunbridge Wells, where his grandfather was the groundsman, and his father a capable all-rounder; his uncle Sidney had played for Kent in the 1920s. Peter was still in his teens when he appeared alongside Woolley for C. H. Knott's Kent XI in 1942, but any thought of a career in the game was postponed when he joined the Royal Engineers the following year. He was taken prisoner in France and, towards the end of the war he was forced on a 500-mile march as the Germans tried to keep POWs away from the Allied advance.

Hearn was still in the army when he made that century on first-class debut. Not until 1950 did he pass 1,000 runs for the first of three times. "He was a very graceful, good looking batsman, but he was a nervous starter," said team-mate Bob Wilson. In 1953 Hearn pushed his average up to 30 and scored three hundreds; the following summer he hit 1,413 runs, including a career-best 172 against Worcestershire at Dudley, the last 72 coming in an hour. "It was a magnificent knock," Wilson recalled. "He looked so good. You thought, 'Why can't he do that all the time?'"

Hearn was released after making just three appearances in 1956, and for a time was the professional at Kirkcaldy in Scotland. He also coached at Tonbridge School, and played for Tunbridge Wells into his forties. Kent colleagues cherished the story of the manager Les Ames, furious at a batting collapse, arriving in the dressing-room to administer a lecture without noting that Hearn was not present. Ames was in full tirade when Hearn appeared insouciantly at the door: "Anyone want an ice cream?"

HOLSTROM, JOHN ERIC, who died on October 18, aged 86, was blessed with a mellifluous voice and dry wit which made him a much-loved announcer on BBC Radio Three for a number of years. A lifelong cricket-lover, he regarded a shift while Test Match Special was on air with relish - unlike most of his colleagues. His was often the voice listeners heard at the start and end of the day, during technical hiccoughs and, for some years, during extended rain-breaks - before the idea took root that listeners preferred to remain at the ground for the conversation of Arlott, Trueman et al. Holmstrom was also a playwright, theatre critic, translator and shopkeeper. With the writer Timothy d'Arch Smith he developed a cricket game first invented by a pair of Australian POWs in a Japanese camp, which involved two sets of playing cards and a pair of dice. It had, said a friend, rules of "fiendish complexity".

IJAZ HUSSAIN MIRZA, who died on April 7, aged 71, was a batsman and superb cover fielder who played for Karachi and National Bank in a ten-year first-class career from 1962. His only century, 123 for Karachi Blues against Bahawalpur in 1964-65, came during a seventh-wicket partnership of 155 with the future Test wicketkeeper Wasim Bari, who was only 16 at the time.

JACELON, BERTICE, died on August 13, aged 98. An umpire who stood in both Tests at the Queen's Park Oval in his native Trinidad on India's tour in 1961-62, "Bertie" Jacelon was later involved in one of the game's more bizarre fiascos. When the Barbadian Cortez Jordan was chosen to stand in the Test against Australia in Guyana in 1964-65, the local umpires' association directed the other official - Cecil Kippins, one of their members - to withdraw in protest on the eve of the match; until then, each territory had provided both umpires for Tests. Jacelon was hurriedly summoned from Trinidad as a last-minute replacement, but his flight was delayed and he failed to reach Georgetown in time. In a fix, the West Indian board, with the agreement of the Australians, turned to former Test allrounder Gerry Gomez, by then head of the West Indies Umpires' Association. Gomez was a qualified umpire, but had never officiated in a first-class match, let alone a Test. He was also a board member and a selector and, for good measure, an end-of-play radio summariser. His first task was to order the repainting of the creases, which had been incorrectly marked. In a match West Indies won by 212 runs, the Australians were satisfied with his judgment. Kippins returned for the last two Tests, while Jacelon was never given another.

JACOBSON, Dr LOUIS COLLINS, who died on December 6, aged 95, had been Ireland's oldest surviving cricketer. He was a polished batsman and occasional wicketkeeper, who played most of his club cricket for Clontarf. In 1950 Jacobson saved the annual first-class match against Scotland by scoring 101 not out at Perth, and two years later an unbeaten 41 - out of 68 for six in the follow-on - helped Ireland draw with the Indian tourists in Belfast.

JAMES, ALBERT EDWARD, died on April 2, aged 88. A dependable seamer, Ted James was an automatic choice for Sussex almost from his debut in 1948 to his retirement a dozen years later: he played 299 first-class matches, all of them for Sussex. He took seven for 12 - from 19.3 overs - against Hampshire at Worthing in 1951, and four years later improved his career-best to nine for 60, against Yorkshire at Hove. "He was the epitome of the good old-fashioned county pro," remembered Ted Dexter, "with a sweet temperament and absolutely no airs and graces." James, who twice took 100 wickets in a season, was always economical, going for little more than two an over throughout his career. "He was one of a breed who maintained metronomic accuracy because they were not rushing through the crease," explained Dexter. "He swung the ball leg to off, starting leg stump - he always bowled with a leg slip for the one that went straight on or came back off the seam." After retirement, James coached at Eastbourne College for many years.

JENKINS, Sir MICHAEL ROMILLY HEALD, KCMG, who died on March 31, aged 77, was a high-ranking diplomat who, after a spell as British Ambassador to the Netherlands, embarked on a successful banking career with Kleinwort Benson. He had also been an influential figure at the European Commission in Brussels, and later became a tireless fundraiser for the Chelsea Royal Hospital. A lifelong cricket fan, he was treasurer of MCC in 1999-2000, and chairman in 2000-01.

JHA, AJAY, who died of a heart attack while playing golf on August 28, aged 57, was a fast-medium bowler who took 159 wickets in a long career in Indian domestic cricket, mainly for Services, after starting with Bihar. His best return was six for 76 for Services against Punjab in 1980-81. A former wing commander in the Indian Air Force, Jha was the chief administrative officer of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore until shortly before his death, when he was removed from his post after being suspected of involvement in a fraudulent land deal.

KENYON, JAMES, died on September 3, aged 71. A cricketer good enough to play in the Lancashire League for around 15 years and represent the county's Second XI, Jim Kenyon was better known as a genial sports broadcaster. He was the roving reporter for a long-running BBC Radio Lancashire cricket show. "His enviable list of contacts ensured the station was never short of star guests to fill the airwaves," said his friend and colleague Mike Latham, "all comfortably within the budget, which was nil." Kenyon was also a former secretary of the Lancashire Football Association, a director of Accrington Stanley - and a serious cricket coach. "I owe my career to Jim," said Lancashire's captain Glen Chapple. "He took me to Old Trafford when I was 11."

KHALID HASAN, who died on December 3, aged 76, was only 16 when he played his solitary Test for Pakistan, at Trent Bridge in 1954. His leg-spin did account for Denis Compton, but not before he had made 278. He removed Reg Simpson too - for 101. Hasan had been a surprise choice for the tour, after only two first-class matches: the unrelated Khalid Qureishi had been tipped for selection, but his left-arm spin was similar to A. H. Kardar's, and some felt the autocratic skipper didn't want too much competition. Hasan took only 23 wickets on the tour, at 39; overall, Wisden felt he "appeared to bowl a little too fast, and his length and direction suffered". Hasan remains the youngest man to finish his Test career (16 years 352 days). Indeed, he played only one further first-class match, in 1958-59.

KOCH, LLOYD BOWEN, who died on April 16, aged 81, had his greatest success as a batsman for Orange Free State, in between spells for Natal and Rhodesia. In 1952-53 he extended his maiden first-class century to 216 not out for OFS against Natal in Bloemfontein, and two seasons later made 111 against Western Province. He opened for a South African XI against the touring Australians in Johannesburg in 1949-50, but was twice out cheaply in totals of 49 and 90, and was later a reserve for the 1951 South African tour of England. Koch also played hockey for South Africa and Rhodesia, whom he captained at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and carried the Rhodesian flag at the opening ceremony.

KRISHNA, SUNDARARAJAN, who died on July 16, aged 75, played eight Ranji Trophy matches for Mysore (now Karnataka). He scored 108 on debut, against Kerala in October 1961, and 122 in his fourth game, against Hyderabad at Bangalore in December 1962.

LAMB, GEORGE CHARLTON, died on March 15, aged 76. Newcastle-born Charlton Lamb was a fine batsman who was a regular member of Durham's Minor Counties side from 1954 to 1971. On moving south, he played for several prominent club sides, including Banstead and Beddington (both in the Surrey Championship) and some notable wandering teams, such as the Nomads and Harold Pinter's Gaieties CC, whose website remembered him as an "ex-captain of enviable experience; stylish batsman, infuriating bowler, seen-it all-before commentator in the slips".

LEIGH-PEMBERTON, ROBERT (latterly Lord Kingsdown), KG, PC, died on November 24, aged 86. "Robin" Leigh-Pemberton was one of Britain's most high-profile business figures, especially during his decade as Governor of the Bank of England from 1983 to 1993. He was a lifelong cricket enthusiast, and his family home - Torry Hill, a 2,500-acre estate near Sittingbourne - had its own idyllic ground where, every year during Canterbury Week, Leigh-Pemberton assembled a team to play the Old Stagers, an actors' XI. The hospitality was generous, but the host usually ensured there was enough quality in his team - often in the shape of a Cowdrey or two - to secure victory. Leigh-Pemberton played at Eton, and was president of Kent in 2002, having served as a trustee of the county for a number of years. He was chairman of NatWest when the bank succeeded Gillette as sponsors of the 60-over county knockout tournament in 1981.

LELE, JAYWANT YASHWANT, who died on September 19, six days after his 75th birthday, was the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India from 1996 to 2001, after six years as joint-secretary. His tenure included the match-fixing scandal involving Hansie Cronje and the Delhi police, which broke late in 2000. An engineer and a qualified umpire who stood in ten Ranji Trophy matches in the 1980s, Lele had become the secretary of the Baroda Cricket Association in 1969. In 2003 he was expelled from the BCA for alleged financial irregularities, but was planning a return when he died. Malcolm Speed, the former ICC chief executive, called him a "lively and colourful character", and said Lele "would always make sure the relationships between cricket boards remained cordial".

LEWIS, DAVID JOHN, who died on January 19, aged 85, captained Rhodesia for ten seasons in South Africa's Currie Cup, making over 3,000 runs, including eight centuries, the highest 170 not out against North Eastern Transvaal in 1954-55. He was one of the South African Cricket Annual's cricketers of the year in 1956. Seasoned observers rank him alongside Duncan Fletcher as the best captain the country ever had. Lewis made his first-class debut in peculiar circumstances in March 1946, when only 18: he and another player were allowed to bat as full substitutes in the second innings against Transvaal, after injuries to others (Rhodesia lost by an innings). He studied law at Oxford, winning a Blue in 1951, before returning home to become a fixture in the national side for more than a dozen years, and later a prominent administrator. The story is still recounted at the Harare Sports Club of a game during the 1960s when, with the home side needing a draw to win the domestic club championship, Lewis was joined by the No. 11. There was plenty of time to go. "Can you count to six?" Lewis asked. "On every sixth ball you run, no matter where the ball is hit." Somehow Lewis manipulated the strike until the last over, when he pushed the final ball back to the bowler and, relieved at saving the match, tucked his bat under his arm. But the No. 11 was still counting, and hurtled down the pitch as instructed. He was run out.

LILIENTHAL, MAURICE, OAM, who died on February 15, aged 95, oversaw the birth of Sydney's Bankstown CC in 1951, and was involved in their administration for 50 years. Among the club's best-known players were Jeff Thomson and the Waugh brothers. Lilienthal managed a number of NSW sides, but his passion was cricket in the bush. In January 2001, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia, for "service to sport, particularly through the New South Wales Country Committee". He pointed proudly to the likes of Mark Taylor, Glenn McGrath, Michael Bevan and Michael Slater as proof of the talent fostered by his committee.

McDONOUGH, MARIE, who died on October 18, aged 95, captained Western Australia for three seasons in the mid-1950s. In 1957-58, when 40, she played in the first Test staged at the WACA - but Una Paisley, Australia's captain, chose not to use McDonough's left arm medium-pacers, despite asking six others to plough through more than 220 overs. Later Australia declared before McDonough batted, but her contribution to the match is preserved in a photograph of a spectacular one-handed catch at silly mid-on from the bowling of Betty Wilson. A schoolteacher, she took an active part in developing girls' sport.

McMAHON, NOEL ALBERT, died on June 9, aged 97. A leg-spinner who made two appearances for Auckland in the late 1930s, McMahon played one further first-class match - an unofficial Test against an Australian team, at Dunedin in March 1950. His selection came shortly after he made 102 for Waikato in a two-day game against the tourists. "I hit the greatest six of my life, back over Alan Davidson's head," he recalled. But at Dunedin McMahon was out cheaply twice - bowled both times by Jack Iverson - and upset his captain Walter Hadlee by arriving only minutes before the start.

MANDELA, NELSON ROLIHLAHLA, who died on December 5, aged 95, fully understood the role sport could play in the new South Africa - especially cricket and rugby, traditionally the games played and watched by whites. After the end of apartheid, South Africa returned to international competition with a one-day series in India in late 1991, the first time the countries had met. But there had been no thought that South Africa would play in the 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand until the question was put to Mandela by a journalist at a meeting with Ali Bacher and the visiting Clive Lloyd. "Of course we must play," Mandela said. And so South Africa did, reaching the semi-finals.

Mandela did not claim to be a cricket lover, but he attended some matches and met visiting teams, most famously when his helicopter landed unannounced on the outfield of the Soweto Cricket Oval, where England were playing an Invitation XI in the third match of their first post-apartheid tour, in 1995-96. Going down the line of players, he stopped at Devon Malcolm. "Ah, I know you," he said. "You are the destroyer," a reference to Malcolm's nine-wicket whirlwind against South Africa at The Oval 14 months earlier.

Malcolm's tour went downhill, with coach Ray Illingworth claiming he had found it hard to cope with the attention. Nor did the furore escape Mandela. When he made his first state visit to Britain, in July 1996, Malcolm was invited to a Downing Street lunch, with Derbyshire granting him permission to miss their NatWest Trophy match against Kent. Malcolm recalled: "When I was introduced to Mr Mandela he said, 'Ah, Devon. If Derbyshire lose today, make sure I get the blame this time.'" They won by two wickets.

MATTHEWS, BRETT ANTHONY, died on January 31, aged 50, after a car accident earlier in the month. A left-arm seamer who took 120 wickets in a six-year career for three South African provincial sides, Matthews had a best return of five for 32 for Western Province B against Transvaal B in 1985-86. Just before that he had taken seven wickets in the match as South African Universities almost upset the unofficial Australian touring team led by Kim Hughes at Port Elizabeth. His younger brother, Craig Matthews, was a seam bowler for South Africa in the 1990s.

MAYERS, VINCENT, who died on December 5, aged 79, was a diminutive batsman whose appearances for his native Guyana were restricted by a stellar batting order, which often included Roy Fredericks, Steve Camacho, Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd, Basil Butcher and Joe Solomon. When Mayers finally got a chance, against the touring Australians at Bourda in 1964-65, he top-scored with 51. But there were only five other first-class opportunities, and he eventually emigrated to the United States - and represented them in the annual match against Canada in 1976.

MAYES, RICHARD, died on July 10, aged 90. Dicky Mayes was part of a generation of cricketers whose entry into the first-class game was delayed by the war. He joined Kent in 1939 as a leg-spinner, but was not given his debut in that final peacetime summer. By the time he returned to Canterbury from active service in North Africa, he had become a batsman - a result, he explained, of the pitches he encountered in Egypt. He finally made his first appearance in 1947, against Northamptonshire at Gravesend; establishing an unfortunate pattern, he was out for nought. In all, he made 23 ducks, though sometimes his batting came off: in 1952 he made 934 runs, including a career-best 134 against Sussex at Tunbridge Wells. But Mayes was released a year later after 80 appearances in six seasons. "He was a shy chap and not very confident in his own ability," said team-mate Derek Ufton. "He was a bad starter - eventually there were more noughts than bigger scores." Mayes played for Suffolk, and became coach and groundsman at Woolverstone Hall School, where Graham Barlow of Middlesex and England, and the rugby player Martin Offiah, were among his pupils.

MAZHARUL HAQUE, MOHAMMAD CHOWDHURI, died of a suspected heart attack while playing badminton in Dhaka on April 3, aged 32. He was a batsman who played a solitary one-day international, against Australia in the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in September 2002, when his dismissal for three reduced Bangladesh to 13 for four. A powerful player, particularly strong square of the wicket, Mazharul hit 171 for Dhaka against Barisal in January 2002. He later worked as the Bangladesh board's tournament manager.

MILLARD, ANTHONY MARIO GLANVILLE, died on August 23, aged 74. Tony Millard was a versatile broadcaster, not only on football - where he was known as the "Voice of the Albion" in Brighton - but speedway, which he covered for Sky Sports, and cricket too. He was a co-founder of the Sussex Cricket League in 1970, and was still umpiring in it when he died.

MILLICAN, JOHN HAROLD, died on September 2, aged 91. Harold Millican was connected to Cumberland cricket for more than 50 years, first as a player in 1951, then as captain, chairman and president (1993-2003). A medium-pacer who could also bowl offbreaks, Millican took 120 wickets in 89 Minor Counties Championship matches. He was also a handy left-handed batsman, good enough to score 56 and 52 against a touring South Australian team on his home ground in Penrith, in 1956.

MITTER, KALYAN, who died on August 16, aged 77, was an all-rounder who had a long career in Indian domestic cricket, mainly for Bengal. He made an undefeated 126, his only century, during a big stand with Test opener Pankaj Roy against Assam at Calcutta in December 1957. His best bowling figures of five for 39 came in his final first-class match, for Bihar against Orissa in 1968-69. Bengal reached the Ranji Trophy final twice during Mitter's playing career, but lost both to Bombay, who won the tournament 15 years running around this time. Later, Mitter coached Bengal to the 1993-94 final, where they lost to Bombay again. His brother Jyotish also played for Bengal.

MOHAN RAI, B. R., who died on November 4, aged 80, was a fast bowler who played 24 first-class matches, mostly for Madras, although he also made two appearances for an Indian XI against Ceylon in 1956-57, his second season. At a time when India's pace resources were thin, Rai was unlucky not to win an official Test cap: some, including captain Polly Umrigar, briefly rated him the quickest bowler in the country. He had a good swinging yorker, but was not a prolific wicket-taker, never managing a first-class five-for.

MUNAWWAR ALI KHAN, who died on October 21, aged 88, was a tall swing bowler who played three unofficial internationals before Pakistan were elevated to Test status in 1952. Against West Indies at Lahore in 1948-49, his four wickets included Clyde Walcott and John Goddard, the captain. But Munawwar's employers, a shipping company, would not allow him leave for long tours, so he missed out on Pakistan's inaugural Test series, in India in 1952-53, and the trip to England in 1954.

MUNIR HOSSAIN, who died on July 29, aged 83, was a journalist and broadcaster on Pakistan cricket, who helped popularise commentary in Urdu, and did much good work for the Karachi City Cricket Association. Munir played one first-class match, captaining Kalat (a smallish town in Balochistan) in their inaugural fixture, against Quetta in Pakistan's Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in August 1969. A handy swing bowler, he took two for 64 in an innings defeat. He missed their next match, a week later: Kalat lost that by an innings and 296, and have not played another first-class game since.

MUNRO, JOHN KNOX EWING, who died on August 16, aged 84, was tall for a wicketkeeper - over six feet - but his athleticism allowed him to make the job look elegantly easy. He kept for Western Australia from the early to mid-1950s, his work drawing an appreciative comment from Alec Bedser, who compared him in build and style to Australia's Don Tallon: "He is tall and slim and able to use his good reach to swoop on low balls and yet fly high for kickers." Munro was also a good enough batsman to open in his first two state matches. And against New South Wales in 1950-51, WA's captain Keith Carmody, a master of lateral thinking, called on Munro to open the bowling in the absence of the injured Harry Price because of what Carmody had seen in the nets. Six overs of respectable medium-pace produced the wicket of Sid Carroll (a batsman who came close to Test selection), before Munro went back behind the stumps. He was also a talented Australian Rules footballer, but his career as a civil engineer caused his retirement from sport by the time he was 30.

NAUMAN SHABBIR, who died on October 22, aged 59, was a batsman and occasional off-spinner who played 34 first-class matches in Pakistan, mainly for Habib Bank. His highest score of 77 came after they had slumped to 50 for six against Muslim Commercial Bank at Rawalpindi in December 1984; Nauman then took a career-best three for ten as MCB slipped to defeat.

O'TOOLE, SEAMUS PETER, who died on December 14, aged 81, maintained a long and often eccentric tradition of actors with a passion for cricket. It was a love affair that began during his northern childhood, continued in games for Lazarusians CC (of which he was the founder), and carried on later in life when he coached youngsters at Brondesbury and Cricklewood cricket clubs with unaffected enthusiasm. Thanks to his friendship with MCC head coach Don Wilson, he was a regular visitor to the nets at Lord's, once gleefully facing an over from Imran Khan at full tilt.

Peter O'Toole grew up in Leeds, and recalled sitting in packed pre-war cinemas cheering newsreel footage of Len Hutton's 364 in 1938; Hutton became his first cricket idol. He would seize any opportunity to introduce cricket to film sets, improvising games with Omar Sharif in the desert while filming Lawrence of Arabia, and teaching the basics to Katharine Hepburn during the making of The Lion in Winter.

He was frank about his own limitations as a batsman and off-spinner: "I have a delivery which is really, really special. It does absolutely nothing." But, when he had a son at the age of 50, he took coaching qualifications. "The only thing I've ever been interested in teaching anyone in life is cricket," he said in his final interview.

PALMER, ANNE, who died on July 9, 2006, aged 91, was a key figure in the inaugural women's Test series in 1934-35, forming an effective spin duo with Peggy Antonio. They practised and played together in Melbourne, and Antonio's leg-spin complemented Palmer's accurate off-breaks so well that they took 22 of the 33 English wickets which fell to bowlers in the three Tests. Palmer showed all her skills in the opening match at Brisbane's Exhibition Ground, with seven for 18 from 13.2 overs. In the Third (and final) Test, at Melbourne, she made an important contribution as Australia forced a draw after two comprehensive defeats. First she made a forthright 39 from No. 10 to limit Australia's deficit to 12, then took three quick wickets which held up England's quest for swift runs.

Palmer was unable to raise the fare to make the 1937 tour of England, and played no more cricket. Instead, her appointment as Victoria's first female police officer set her on a lifetime career, although many younger women cricketers in Melbourne benefited from her gentle but perceptive advice. Palmer died in 2006 but, as she had no close relatives, her passing was not immediately noticed by the cricket community.

PANDIT, MADHAVAN BALAN, died on June 5, aged 86. Balan Pandit had a long career in Indian domestic cricket, mainly for Kerala, whom he captained; a stylish batsman, he played his last match in 1969-70, when he was 43. He scored four centuries, all for Kerala and all against Andhra, the highest 262 not out at Palakkad in 1959-60, when he and George Abraham shared a stand of 410. Pandit's early first-class matches were for Kathiawar, and he was their wicketkeeper in the 1948-49 match in which Maharashtra's Bhausaheb Nimbalkar was stranded on 443 not out - nine short of the first-class record at the time, held by Don Bradman - when the Kathiawar team refused to continue.

PERKINS, GEORGE CYRIL, who died on November 21, aged 102, was at the time of his death the oldest English first-class cricketer, and one of a diminishing number who played before the Second World War. Perkins, always known as Cyril, was a left-arm spinner who made 56 appearances for Northamptonshire between 1934 and 1937, and achieved the unwanted distinction of never playing on the winning side. It was an English record which he bore with equanimity, and he went on to have a long career with Suffolk.

Perkins arrived at Wantage Road from Wollaston, brought along by coach Ben Bellamy, who also hailed from the village. A right-handed batsman, he initially bowled left-arm seam, but soon switched to spin. He made his debut in a nine-wicket defeat by Middlesex at Lord's, a result which set the tone for his career: Northamptonshire would finish bottom of the Championship in each of his four summers. "We did get a bit despondent at times," he told the Daily Telegraph on his 100th birthday. "We had a first-innings lead in quite a few matches and didn't win any of them. But in the end you get so used to not winning you just accept it."

One of those squandered positions came at Northampton in July 1935, when Perkins took a career-best six for 54 as Worcestershire were dismissed for 93. Northamptonshire had a first-innings lead of 78 - and lost by 30 runs. That was his best summer, with 63 wickets, but it was followed by two barren seasons. He was released in 1937, and joined Suffolk two years later, taking ten wickets on debut, against Lincolnshire.

He served in the Royal Artillery during the war, then became cricket coach and groundsman at Ipswich School, a position he held until 1977. Perkins resumed his career with Suffolk in 1946, and 46 wickets at seven apiece - the product of accuracy rather than turn - to bowl them to their first Minor Counties Championship. Against Hertfordshire at Felixstowe in 1960, he exploited a damp patch to claim ten for 23 in the second innings.

Perkins retired aged 56 in 1967 after taking 779 wickets, a Suffolk record. He was selected in the Minor Counties team of the century in 1999. When he celebrated his 100th birthday in 2011, there were many tributes, but affectionate letters from former pupils pleased him most. Suffolk's chairman Norman Atkins said: "If anybody wanted a definition of the spirit of cricket, it was Cyril Perkins."

PERTWEE, WILLIAM DESMOND ANTHONY, MBE, died on May 27, aged 86. The comic actor Bill Pertwee did not achieve his schoolboy dream of becoming a professional cricketer, but he did once captain a team that included Fred Trueman. In 1970, Trueman appeared in an episode of Dad's Army, the sitcom in which Pertwee earned fame as Hodges, the belligerent air-raid warden. Hodges challenges Captain Mainwaring's Home Guard, his despised rivals, to a cricket match, and covertly recruits "E. C. Egan", played by Trueman, to the wardens' team. With Hodges keeping wicket - and ill-advisedly standing up - Egan marks out his full run, bowls one ball which leaves Mainwaring grovelling on the floor, and puts his shoulder out in the process. The Home Guard go on to win and, yet again, Hodges' attempt to get one over on Mainwaring fails. In his autobiography, A Funny Way to Make a Living, he detailed his youthful obsession with the game, and his thwarted playing ambitions. But he did inveigle his way into the 1946 Indian touring party as a baggage-handler.

POCOCK, ANTHONY JOHN, died on February 27, aged 65. Tony Pocock was the head groundsman at Fenner's for 17 years from 1980. He enjoyed his time at Cambridge - "He really loved his job, and worked at it noon and night," said his twin brother Michael - but eventually took early retirement, after a bout of depression caused by criticism of the pitches (which Pocock maintained were difficult to roll). His predecessor, Cyril Coote, did the job for 44 years, and the man before him, Walter Watts, for 48.

PONNADURAI, SELLIAH, who died on August 15, aged 78, was an umpire from Jaffna who stood in three Tests. The first, against India at Colombo's P. Saravanamuttu Stadium in September 1985, resulted in Sri Lanka's first victory, at their 14th attempt. Piyadasa Vidanagamage, the other umpire in that game, died a few days later. Ponnadurai, who also officiated in eight one-day internationals, had a 20-year career as a first-class umpire.

RANDALL, DARRYN, died after being struck while batting during a league game at Alice in South Africa's Eastern Cape on October 27. He was 32. Randall, who was wearing a helmet, was hit on the side of the head after missing a pull. He collapsed, and could not be revived. Late in 2009 he had kept wicket in four first-class matches for Border, scoring 46 against Western Province.

REGE, MADHUSUDAN RAMACHANDRA, who died on December 16, aged 89, was a batsman who won one Test cap for India, against West Indies at Madras in 1948-49. Opening with Mushtaq Ali, Rege made 15 and nought as India lost by an innings, and was never selected again. His first innings lasted 90 minutes, and was ended by fast bowler Prior Jones. Jeff Stollmeyer, West Indies' vice-captain, observed: "Rege, seeking refuge outside the off stump, had his leg peg knocked out of the ground." But Rege remained a heavy scorer in domestic cricket, mainly for Maharashtra: four of his six centuries came for them. That included a valiant performance in the 1948-49 Ranji Trophy semi-final against Bombay at Poona. He scored 133 in Maharashtra's first innings but, already 244 ahead, Bombay batted on and on in a timeless match, eventually declaring at 714 for eight: Rege made a round 100 in the second innings as his side reached 604 - and lost by 354 runs. He was also a useful off-spinner, who once took five for 23 against Baroda.

RICHARDS, GEOFFREY ALAN, died on December 27, aged 91. Alan Richards was a long-serving commentator on many sports, particularly cricket: he covered New Zealand's four Test tours of England between 1973 and 1986, when he worked on Test Match Special. He was also on the air for Trevor Chappell's underarm delivery at the end of a one-day international between Australia and New Zealand at Melbourne in February 1981. Richards played five first-class matches in 1955-56, captaining Auckland in all of them, and scored 53 not out against the touring West Indians, for whom Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine shared seven wickets. Later that summer he was behind the microphone when New Zealand won their first Test match, also at Eden Park.

ROBERTS, Sir DENYS TUDOR EMIL, who died on May 19, aged 90, was a left-field choice as president of MCC in 1989-90, since he had not previously served on their committee. But he proved a capable and good-natured figurehead, still fondly remembered at Lord's. He had been a handy schoolboy cricketer - Wisden 1940 reported that, in a year when Aldenham's batting "was not sound", only Roberts was "anything like reliable" - but missed out on a Blue at Oxford. After university he wrote several novels, and began a legal career from which he retired as the last non-Chinese Chief Justice of Hong Kong.

ROBINS, DONNELL, died on December 8, aged 79. Donn Robins was finally given a chance at first-class level in 1964-65 aged 30, after 13 years of grade cricket in Adelaide. Accurate and able to move the ball in the air and off the pitch at a decent pace, he took five for 60 on debut against Western Australia at Adelaide. Next season he excelled against New South Wales, with six-wicket hauls at Adelaide and Sydney. He took four in four balls in the first of those matches, although the feat went unrecorded for many years: Robins finished NSW's first innings with a hat-trick, then dismissed Bob Simpson with the first ball of the follow-on. The only other instance of this in Australia was by NSW's Hal Hooker in 1928-29. However, one of the scorers had fallen ill shortly before the end of NSW's first innings, and the other, Tom Harry, was left to maintain both scorebooks.

In the rush, Simpson's wicket was erroneously entered as falling to the fifth ball of the second innings, not its first. In 1999 Robins raised the issue with the Adelaide cricket historian Bernard Whimpress - through Harry, who admitted the possibility of a mistake. The evidence Whimpress collected - the vivid memories of the bowler, wicketkeeper Barry Jarman (who took the catch) and first slip Ian Chappell, plus a local-paper article mentioning the feat - confirmed the achievement.

ROBINSON, PAUL ANDREW, who died on August 6, aged 57, was a tall fast bowler, nicknamed "Long John", who played 33 first-class matches in his native South Africa - and one for Lancashire, in 1979, when he opened the bowling against Kent at Maidstone, dismissing Paul Downton and Graham Dilley. He also took three wickets in the accompanying Sunday League game. At home, his best figures were six for 46 for Northern Transvaal against Natal at Durban in 1983-84, when his victims included another England Test player, Geoff Miller. Robinson also played for Cheshire, and Cleckheaton in the Bradford League.

RUTHERFORD, JOHN ROBERT FULTON, who died on December 25, aged 78, played 11 matches for Cambridge University in 1957 and 1958 without winning a Blue, at a time when the Varsity sides were strong. A medium-pacer from Kent, he took only ten first class wickets, five of them in the game against Worcestershire in May 1957; in the next match, against the West Indian tourists, he dismissed Clyde Walcott for 86.

RUTNAGUR, DICKYJAMSHED SOHRAB, who died on June 20, aged 82, was one of the most durable, knowledgeable and travelled of all cricket writers. A Bombay Parsi, Rutnagur began to forge a reputation in India in the 1950s as a writer and commentator on cricket, badminton and squash. Encouraged by the wandering scribe Ron Roberts, he moved to England to join the Daily Telegraph's team of county cricket reporters, and between 1966 and 2005 his pieces, under the name D. J. Rutnagur, appeared in the paper thousands of times. Out of season, he would travel the world to freelance on Test matches, disguised under names such as Dilip Rao. His Telegraph copy, like his byline, was unadorned, fitting perfectly the paper's old insistence on plain facts.

The restrictions largely deprived readers of his excellent cricketing judgment. In person, he was never bland: a press box with Dicky in it was always full of cigarette smoke, chat and mischief, with whisky afterwards. Therewould be fits of rather comic irritability, directed at "the bloody subs" or the copy-takers - or simply bad cricket. Though the annoyance would soon dissolve into guffaws, he took the game seriously and expected it to be played correctly and well. His son Richard appeared for Oxford in the 1985 and 1986 Varsity matches.

RYAN, MAURICE LLOYD, who died on August 12, 2011, aged 68, was an accomplished batsman, astute captain, handy off-spinner and useful stand-in wicketkeeper who came close to selection for New Zealand. Although he had three seasons with Central Districts - and made his maiden century for them against Otago in 1968-69, when he shared a big stand with Bevan Congdon - Ryan was more associated with Canterbury. He scored two hundreds in a week in January 1971, including a career-best 129 against Auckland, and made more than 2,000 runs for them in all. His versatility made him a useful one-day performer, and he played for a New Zealand XI that took part in Australia's domestic one day competition in 1971-72, catching Bill Lawry off the young Richard Hadlee. He was later chairman of the Canterbury Cricket Association, before resigning in 2001 and moving to Sydney, where he died ten years later.

SALIM PERVEZ died on April 24, aged 65, of injuries received in a motorcycle accident in Lahore. He had a successful career in Pakistan, scoring more than 8,000 runs with 16 centuries, the highest 226 not out for National Bank against Quetta in 1978-79. "Paijee" was often tantalisingly close to Pakistan selection, but in fact played just a solitary one day international, against West Indies at Lahore in 1980-81 - and might have wished he had missed it, as he was sent in first against Sylvester Clarke and Colin Croft, with Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall to come. Still, he made 18 in an opening stand of 44, and was unlucky not to play again, particularly in 1982-83, when he passed 1,000 runs in the home season. Pervez was later involved in the match-fixing scandals that engulfed Pakistan cricket in the late 1990s. After allegations that he had acted as a go-between for bookies and players, he was summoned to appear before the 1998 Qayyum Inquiry. He testified that he had given money to several cricketers, notably $US100,000 to Salim Malik and Mushtaq Ahmed during a one-day tournament in Sri Lanka in 1994, an allegation both players denied. However, Qayyum concluded, "this commission on the whole believes Salim Pervez".

SANTOSH LAL, who died of pancreatitis on July 17, aged 29, was an all-rounder for Jharkhand (formerly Bihar), scoring 63 against Tripura in December 2006. But his greatest legacy was the whirling helicopter shot later perfected by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a state team-mate. On hearing of Lal's illness, Dhoni - a friend since childhood - arranged for him to be airlifted from Ranchi to Delhi for specialist treatment, but it was too late.

SHAH, Dr SYED MOHAMMAD ALI, who died on February 4, aged 67, was a Karachi orthopaedic surgeon, and part-time cricket commentator for Pakistan TV and radio, in English and Urdu. He built the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium in the north of Karachi - a fully equipped and floodlit ground, named after his father, which has now staged several first class matches (Umar Akmal scored 248 there in December 2007). He received awards from the government for his services to sport and medicine, and was Sind's sports minister from 2011 to 2013.

SHAHID ISRAR, who died on April 29, aged 63, was a wicketkeeper who played one Test for Pakistan, against New Zealand in 1976-77, while the long-serving Wasim Bari was temporarily out of favour. Shahid dropped a few in a high-scoring draw, but did catch Richard Hadlee off Intikhab Alam for 87, and Wasim soon returned. Shahid's ten-year career included matches for several teams, most of them based in Karachi. He scored 93 while captaining Sind A against PIA in January 1977. SHAHID QURESHI, who died on September 2, aged 77, was a batsman who played 20 first-class matches in Pakistan over a decade from 1954-55. His only century, 135, came for Karachi C against Karachi A in October 1957.

SHAMSHER SINGH, who died of a heart attack on March 21, aged 40, was a hard working medium-pacer who took 55 Ranji Trophy wickets for Rajasthan, with a best of five for 72 against Vidarbha in 1992-93, his first season. He also took five for 26 against them in a one-day game. Shamsher later ran a coaching academy in Jaipur, and was the manager of the Rajasthan Royals team, captained by Shane Warne, which won the inaugural IPL, in 2008.

SHAW, JOHN, who died on November 25, aged 56, was a highly regarded journalist and commentator, best known in the Midlands for his reports on music and sport, particularly cricket, for BBC Radio Leicester. "He taught me everything I know in radio," said Charlie Dagnall, the former county player who joined the Test Match Special team in 2013. "He'll always be the voice in my head when commentating."

SHEIKH SALAHUDDIN AHMED, who died of a heart attack on October 29, aged 44, was an off-spinner who played six one-day internationals for Bangladesh in pre-Test days. In his second match, against Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 1997, he took two for 48, dismissing Sanath Jayasuriya and Arjuna Ranatunga. First-class cricket did not start in earnest in Bangladesh until Test status was acquired in 2000-01, by which time Salahuddin was bowling less - but he did score 96 on his first-class debut, for Khulna against Biman Airlines in January 2001. After retiring in 2006, he took up coaching.

SMITH, Professor Sir COLIN STANSFIELD, CBE, died on June 18, aged 80. Before he became one of Britain's most famous architects and was knighted for his services to the profession, Colin Smith was an aggressive seam bowler and lower-order batsman, principally for Cambridge University and his native Lancashire. When he ended his firstclass career in 1958 aged 25, there were those who thought he might have become a regular new-ball partner for Brian Statham, and some even more than that: "Had Colin played on," said Bob Barber, "he would have made a good replacement for Trevor Bailey in the England team."

Smith was born in Manchester into a cricketing family: his father represented Accrington and Cheshire, and his elder brother, Donald, played three games for Lancashire in the early 1950s. Smith junior was just 18 when he made his Lancashire debut, against Hampshire at Liverpool in 1951, and made occasional appearances during his National Service in the next two summers, before a first season at Cambridge in 1954. When Lancashire visited in May, he bowled Barber and Winston Place, and left Cyril Washbrook bruised and cursing in the dressing-room.

Showing an architect's appreciation of angles, he worked out how to use the back-foot no-ball law to maximum effect, dragging his steel-toe capped right boot some three feet to get closer to the batsman in his delivery stride. Ted Dexter, later a Cambridge team-mate, recalled: "My first meeting with him was in mid-pitch in a trial game at Fenner's. I had walked down the pitch a couple of times and whacked him for four. He said to me. 'I don't know who you are, but if you do that again, I will run through the crease and bowl it straight at your head.' We were never the best of friends thereafter."

Smith played in four Varsity matches, achieving his best figures of four for 42 in his last appearance, in 1957. He also appeared for the Gentlemen that summer, and scored his only first-class century, against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. He was a clean striker of the ball and good enough to be asked to open for Lancashire in emergencies. In all, he made 106 appearances, taking 293 wickets at 24, with a best of six for 35 for Cambridge against Free Foresters in 1955, before architecture claimed him full-time. "In those days the likes of Colin and myself did not think of careers in the game," Barber said. "It was rather a matter of grasping some cricket before you turned 100% to your chosen life pattern or career."

Smith was County Architect for Hampshire County Council from 1974 until 1992, establishing a nationwide reputation for innovative school buildings. In 1991 he won the RIBA Royal Gold Medal, British architecture's highest award. He returned to Fenner's to design the new pavilion, which in 1972 replaced the much-loved but decrepit old building. He improved the facilities but his design did not earn universal acclaim. "Distinctly functional, built of wood and ugly modern brick," wrote George Plumptre in Homes of Cricket.

SMITHSON, RALPH, who died on December 26, aged 103, played his first match for Ditchling in Sussex in 1929 - and the last in 2000, when he was 89. He was affectionately known as the club's "run machine". He said, "I was like Jack Hobbs, because I scored more centuries after I was 40"; he was also a good enough bowler to take five hat-tricks for Ditchling as well.

STRAUSS, RAYMOND BERNARD, died on July 28, aged 85. Ray Strauss was one of the most intelligent exponents of swing bowling, but his career is testament to the treasures squandered in Australia as the lust for speed became an obsession. He was able to move the ball appreciably both ways and late, at a peppery fast-medium. His team-mate John Rutherford - Western Australia's first Test player - admiringly remembered the "magnificent control of his bowling" and an ability "to add cut to swing in making himself a complete master of his art". In only his second match for WA, against the 1952-53 South Africans, Strauss exploited the Fremantle Doctor to take seven for 75. But he was not just a home banker: he also prospered at Melbourne (nine for 83 in the match in 1956-57) and Sydney (six for 66 in NSW's first innings that same season).

Strauss never did represent Australia, though: he played in a trial match for the 1957-58 tour of South Africa, but tore a leg muscle on the first day. He did, however, bowl well for an Australian XI against Peter May's 1958-59 MCC tourists, taking four for 77 in the first innings. His batting combined a little study of the textbook with an ability to hit out. A skilled hockey player, he represented Western Australia for six years from 1949, and gained selection for Australia in 1954. Strauss worked as an architect in England while playing league cricket in Lancashire in 1960 and 1961. An urbane and engaging man, he was later a wise mentor to WA's many successful swing bowlers, including Bob Massie. Strauss had a long friendship with Maurice Foley, who also died in 2013 (see Briefly Noted, below). A bone of good-natured contention between them down the years was that they had worked on a plan to dismiss the fluent state batsman Fred Buttsworth by getting him to hook early on in a Perth grade match. Strauss supplied the ball, Buttsworth supplied the stroke, and Foley dropped the catch.

SURRIDGE, BETTY PATRICIA, died on February 26, aged 91. Betty Surridge succeeded Sir Paul Getty as Surrey's president in 1997, becoming the first (and so far only) woman to hold the position at any county club. She was the widow of Stuart Surridge, who captained Surrey to five successive County Championship titles in the 1950s, and was president himself in 1981. "What I am good at is meeting people," she said. "I know a lot of cricketing people and I shall help entertain." She was also a founder member of the Lady Taverners section. Micky Stewart, who succeeded her as president, said: "Betty was a wonderful lady and was so popular during Stuart's reign as captain - with all the players and throughout the wider club. She will be remembered for her commitment to and love of Surrey CCC, and her amazing personality."

SURTI, RUSI FRAMROZE, who died on January 12, aged 76, played 26 Tests for India in the 1960s. He was a genuine all-rounder: a capable batsman who had extended his maiden century to 246 not out, for Rajasthan against Uttar Pradesh in 1960-61, and a useful bowler who could deliver spin or medium-pace - although he was a little over placed opening the bowling, which he was forced to do frequently in Tests because of India's shortage of quicks. A left-handed batsman and bowler, he was sometimes, rather unfairly, described as the poor man's Sobers. Farokh Engineer, a fellow Parsi and wicketkeeper in many of Surti's Tests, remembered: "We grew up together and played the game in Dadar's Parsi colony. He was extremely talented, and one of the best fielders I've seen."

Surti was dismissed for 99 (after being dropped twice on the same score) against New Zealand at Auckland in 1967-68. Earlier on that tour he had taken five for 74 against Australia at Adelaide, in between scoring 70 and 53, and his wholehearted efforts led to an offer to join Queensland; he remains the only Indian Test player to appear in the Sheffield Shield. Surti was an immediate hit, taking their first Shield hat-trick, against Western Australia at Perth in January 1969, and adding a century against WA in 1970-71. John Maclean, Queensland's future Test wicketkeeper, said: "Just having someone who had played Tests helped us, because at that stage none of us had." In all, Surti had five productive seasons in Brisbane, but later his time in Australia turned sour: in 1993 he launched legal action against his employers, the Queensland Fire Service, claiming he had been called a "curry eater" and an "Indian bastard". The court ruled that much of the alleged abuse was "mere banter".

TAYLOR, KEEGAN JAMES, died on December 27, aged 29, of complications arising from a diabetic seizure. An off-spinner from Mutare, Taylor took five wickets in three matches for Manicaland, in Zimbabwe's Logan Cup, in 2001-02.

TELANG, VIJAY SHANKAR, who died on June 18, aged 61, was a big-hitting batsman, mainly for the Indian state of Vidarbha, for whom his four hundreds included 155 against Railways at Gorakhpur in 1982-83. He also appeared for Central Zone, scoring half centuries against both the Australian and Pakistani tourists of 1979-80. Contemporaries recalled a batsman who might have been a Twenty20 star these days.

TOWNSHEND, DERRICK WALTER, who died on June 8, aged 69, was a member of a prominent cricket family in Rhodesia, and played five matches for the national side. When MCC toured southern Africa in 1964-65, he opened Matabeleland's batting in a two-day game, and later dismissed Geoff Boycott with his off-spin. "Dobbo" Townshend - a tall man whose Bulawayo home included a well-stocked cricket museum - became a prominent administrator. His brother Trevor (who died in 2010) and son Matthew also played first class cricket.

VERNON, MURRAY TREVOR, died on April 16, aged 76. At its best, Vernon's left hand batting for Western Australia had charm and class; he stroked the ball rather than struck it. Yet when there were opportunities in the Australian side during the 1960s, Vernon was either absent from the domestic scene or failed to score enough runs to press his case. A confident debut at 18 against New South Wales at Perth in 1955-56 produced an undefeated 69 off an attack including Test players Keith Miller, Pat Crawford, Alan Davidson and Richie Benaud. But after spending the English summers of 1961 and 1962 as Rishton's professional in the Lancashire League, Vernon missed two Sheffield Shield seasons while he established his accountancy practice. In 1965-66, though, he returned in full bloom, beginning with a century against the MCC tourists and ending with his highest score of 173, against NSW. Vernon was a safe slip catcher, and took the occasional wicket with his medium-pace. His single season of state captaincy, 1966-67, was wedged between the more aggressively successful leadership styles of Barry Shepherd and Tony Lock.

VIDANAGAMAGE, PIYADASA WEWA, who died on August 24, aged 79, was the first Sri Lankan to umpire in the World Cup, taking charge of four matches in 1987. In all, "Vida" stood in 23 one-day internationals - and four Tests, including Sri Lanka's maiden victory, over India in Colombo in September 1985. His colleague in that match, Selliah Ponnadurai, died a few days before him.

WATT, WILLIAM BROCKBANK, died on September 11, aged 95. On New Year's Day 1934, the 15-year-old Bill Watt dutifully accompanied his Scottish-born mother to the annual Highland Games at the Sydney Showground. When they climbed to the observation tower of its Grand Stand, an attendant pointed out to Watt that he could look down on the neighbouring Sydney Cricket Ground; better still, he could watch Don Bradman bat.Watt was more interested in the prospects of a job there, despite the grip of the Great Depression: 12 months later, he was on the staff as an assistant groundsman and, after returning from service with the RAAF, was appointed assistant curator in 1947. Following the death of Wally Gorman, Watt became head curator in 1951. Seven years later, he was lured to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where he remained until 1978. His grounds were flawless, and his pitches provided blandishments for both bowlers and batsmen; the one for the 1977 Centenary Test was a crowning testimony to his skills, and he retired back to Sydney soon after. Sir Robert Menzies, Australia's long-serving prime minister and a knowledgeable cricket lover, had first met Watt on the pitch at the SCG after Tyson's Test in 1954-55. In later years in Melbourne, Sir Robert would invariably greet the curator with "Ah, Watt - the man we pinched from Sydney." Watt was proud of his nickname, which was coined over some beers with the players and SCG groundstaff after a Sheffield Shield match in 1955. The discussion eventually settled on the fact that Watt was the only person present without a nickname, whereupon the future Test wicketkeeper Wally Grout chipped in: "Why don't we call him 'Grassy', after the pitches the bastard prepares for us to cop Lindwall and Miller on each year?"

WATTS, DAVID EARP, died on January 29, the month after his 100th birthday. He was headmaster of Kingsmead School, in Hoylake on the Wirral, for 30 years to 1979. In his youth he kept wicket for Cheshire, and never lost his affection for the game. Birds were another major passion: his two interests clashed one summer when he was forced to cordon off the school's cricket square as skylarks were nesting nearby.

WEEKES, ANDREW EMMANUEL, who died on January 21, aged 72, was the first umpire from the Leeward Islands to stand in Tests, officiating in four between 1983 and 1990. He also stood in three one-day internationals. Julian Hunte, president of the West Indies Cricket Board at the time of Weekes's death, said he had done "some tremendous work" in developing the game in his native St Kitts.

WEEKS, RAYMOND THOMAS, died on December 2, aged 83. Slow left-armer Ray Weeks took 94 wickets in 1951, as Warwickshire won the Championship in his first full season. That included a career-best seven for 70 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. "His steadiness was of great value," reported Wisden, "and at times, particularly when bowling to [Denis] Compton at the top of his form at Lord's, he reached a very high standard." Weeks had claimed five for 42 on his debut the previous year, against Cambridge University, after appearing for his native Cornwall from the age of 17. He played on to 1957, but never quite hit such heights again. "Nobody could have forecast the inexplicable decline in his form," said Jack Bannister, a Warwickshire team-mate. "However, nothing must detract from the part he played in bringing the County Championship title back to Edgbaston after a break of 40 years."

WESTCOTT, RICHARD JOHN, died on January 16, aged 85. Dick Westcott was an attractive batsman, who made four centuries for Western Province, and a superb fielder. Usually an opener, he was strong on the off side, but couldn't claim a regular place in the South African side of the 1950s. He did make 62 in his first Test, against New Zealand at Cape Town in 1953-54, but failed to reach 50 in another two matches in that series, or two more when recalled against Australia at home in 1957-58. He rounded off his Test career with a duck, just a week after a career-best 140 against Eastern Province. Westcott was born in Lisbon, and was the only Portuguese-born Test cricketer - until the month after his death, when Moises Henriques (born in Madeira) made his debut for Australia.

WHITE, JOHN, who died on December 1, aged 74, was a leading authority on the viola; he taught at the Royal Academy of Music for 30 years, and was a founder member of the acclaimed Alberni String Quartet. White grew up in the Yorkshire village of Royston, whose most famous son was Norman Yardley, England's captain in the 1948 Ashes series. White became an assiduous collector of cricket memorabilia, much of it related to Yardley, and shortly before his death published a book, Those Were The Days: A Yorkshire Boy's Cricket Scrapbook, illustrated with more than 800 items from his collection.

WHITFIELD, HAROLD VIVIAN LORAINE, who died on May 15, aged 94, played 24 matches, several as captain, for Border in South Africa in a career that stretched from 1936-37 to 1953-54. He made one century, 123 against Western Province at Cape Town in December 1937, and was also a handy leg-spinner. Fortune seemed to smile on Whitfield in the Second World War: he missed one naval posting because of rail delays, only for his ship to go down with all hands shortly afterwards; he served on another vessel with Prince Philip, and opened the batting with him in a regimental game; and, finally, he claimed to have dined out with the stage and screen star Vivien Leigh. Whitfield also represented Border at hockey and golf, and later became president of the South African Golf Union.

WILLARS, IAN WILLIAM WILTON, who died on May 7, aged 75, was a long-standing cricket and football writer in the Midlands, who reported on Warwickshire and Worcestershire for the Birmingham Post and its evening sister, the Mail. Known to his local colleagues as "The Duke", he exuded a pipe-smoking, rather gentlemanly air which belied his formidable contacts book. He was popular among cricket writers for arranging real-ale nights during Edgbaston Tests. In the office, he had two jackets: one to wear, the other to keep on the back of his chair in case the editor came by when he had nipped out to the Queen's Arms for what he liked to call some "intro juice".

WOSTRACK, JENNIFER GEORGINA (ne´e Worrell), died on August 28, aged 67. Jenny Wostrack, a useful cricketer who played for Surrey Women and the prominent Surrey club Redoubtables, was the niece of the former West Indian captain Frank Worrell. She worked for the London Community Cricket Association, running their centre in Wallington, and was later a director of the Surrey Cricket Board.

ZAFAR MAHMOOD, who died on December 13, aged 65, was a batsman who played 16 first-class matches in Pakistan, scoring one century - 106 for Khairpur against Karachi Whites in March 1972. The previous week he made 94 and 58 against the Pakistan Works Department.

ZAKIR HUSSAIN SYED, who died on March 21, aged 73, was The Cricketer's Pakistan correspondent throughout the 1970s, and a radio and TV commentator on cricket and other sports. A prominent badminton player in his youth, "Zak" also played nine first-class matches as a medium-pacer, taking seven wickets for less than 18 each. He was an acclaimed director-general of the Sports Board of Pakistan from 1973 to 1980, becoming the first sporting administrator to be awarded the President's Medal. He was secretary of the Asian Cricket Council from 1999 to 2002.

ZULFIQAR BHATTI collapsed and died after being hit on the chest while batting in a club game in Sukkur in Pakistan on December 18. He was 22. Zulfiqar's team, which was taking part in a local Twenty20 tournament, was captained by his brother. "Doctors made every attempt to revive him," said Ayaz Mehmood, a local official, "but it seems like he breathed his last on the pitch."