English cricket captain Ray Illingworth died at the age of 89

LONDON – Former England cricket captain Ray Illingworth, who continued as coach, is dead. He was 89.

Illingworth, who led the UK 2-0 win in Ashes, Australia from 1970-1971, had received radiotherapy for esophageal cancer. Yorkshire, the county of England where Illingworth played, announced his death on Saturday.

“Our thoughts are with Ray’s family and the wider Yorkshire family that kept Ray so close to his heart,” Yorkshire tweeted.

Illingworth played 61 test matches for the England national team from 1958 to 1973, making 1,836 runs averaging 23.24 and making 122 visits.

He served as England captain 31 times and won 12 of those matches.

“Ray was a great cricketer, and his deep love, passion and knowledge of the game meant he continued to bet long after his day of play,” said Tom Harrison, chief executive of the Cricket Board of England and Wales.

Illingworth’s top player career lasted 32 years from his debut in 1951 to his last appearance in 1983. He eventually finished 24,134 in first-class running and 2,072 at the door and was named Wisden’s Cricket Player of the Year in 1960.

Illingworth’s wife, Shirley, died earlier this year after fighting cancer, and Illingworth had offered her support to change the laws on assisted death in the UK.

“I don’t want to have my wife for the last 12 months,” he had said. “She had a terrible time going from hospital to hospital and she was in pain. I believe in assisted death. Like my wife, there has been no enjoyment in life for the last 12 months and I don’t see the point in living as if to be honest.

“But we haven’t assisted in dying in England yet, so you have no choice? They’re discussing it and I think it will come eventually. Many doctors oppose it, but if they had to live. Like my wife did in the last 12 months, they might change their minds. “

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