Former England opening batsman John Edrich passed away on Friday at the age of 83, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement.
The left-handed batsman, Edrich, played 77 Tests between 1963 and 1976, scoring over 5,000 runs at an impressive average of 43.54 and captaining his country on one occasion.
The batsman was also the captain of Surrey and hit 103 hundred and more than 39,000 runs in first-class cricket.
“With John’s passing, we’ve lost a prolific and fearless batsman – one of the select few who has scored more than 5,000 runs for England,” ECB chief executive officer Tom Harrison said in a statement.
“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.”
Edrich was part of the very first ODI that was played between England and Australia in January 1971 and has the distinction of being the Man-of-the-Match from that game.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) also mourned the demise of Edrich and tweeted, “We are saddened to hear that former England batsman, John Edrich, has passed away at the age of 83. He made 5361 runs for England in 84 matches and was also the Player of the Match in the first-ever ODI. The thoughts of the global cricket community are with the Edrich family.”
Former England skipper Ian Botham tweeted, “Very sad news today to wake up on Christmas Day and to be told that John Edrich has passed away !! A wonderful man who I was lucky enough to spend some quality time with…RIP.”