Ray Illingworth dies at 89
Tags: India, Bbl, Australia, Cricket, Test

Between 1958 and 1973, Illingworth appeared in 61 Tests for England.

In the 1990s, he was chair of selecting an England trainer.

According to the Yorkshire Cricket Club, Ray Illingworth, the former England skipper, died on Saturday at the age of 89. Illingworth had been having radiotherapy for oesophagal cancer and was one of the few individuals to guide England to a Test series win in Australia in 1970–71.

Illingworth played 61 Tests between 1958 and 1973, scoring 1,836 runs at an average of 23.24 and capturing 122 wickets at a scoring rate of 31.20. He led England to victory in 12 of his 31 appearances as captain.

Between 1994 and 1996, Illingworth served as the head of England’s selectors and captained the squad in 1995–96.

His cricketing abilities were evident early in his life when he averaged more than 100 with the bat for his school and showed ability as a medium-pace bowler before switching to spin. He took several wickets for little runs with both deliveries.

He was also a promising player who could play for Huddersfield Town and Bradford City, two local teams. However, his skills with a tiny, hard red ball for Farsley in the Yorkshire League rapidly drew the notice of Yorkshire county coaches. He stood out for Yorkshire’s second XI and earned his first XI appearance just after his 19th birthday.

Between 1959 and 1968, Illingworth rose through the ranks of a brilliant Yorkshire team that won seven county tournaments in ten years, three of which he captained.

Illingworth was advised to “bugger off” when he asked for a three-year agreement despite his on-field success. Leicestershire quickly grabbed his services and declared him captain. Following an injury to England captain Colin Cowdrey, Illingworth has named his replacement.

He returned to Yorkshire later, primarily as head coach, but he also attempted to come back as a player at the age of 50 in 1982. The time was plagued by controversy involving the dismissal of Geoffrey Boycott as captain by Illingworth. Boycott’s followers would extract vengeance by seizing control of the Yorkshire committee, ending Illingworth’s career in Yorkshire.

From his debut in 1951 until his final appearance in 1983, his first-class career lasted 32 years.

In 1960, he was voted Wisden Cricketer of the Year after scoring 24,134 first-class runs and taking 2,072 wickets.

He will be recognised as one of the country’s top leaders when he is at his best. The away Ashes victory over Australia in 1970–71 was a milestone. If he hadn’t been enticed back to prominence as England’s chairman of selectors in 1994, it would have been a fitting end.

He stepped aboard what was effectively a sinking ship, with strong expectations that his keen sense of the game and straightforward approach would turn things around.

Instead, his time was a disaster, with frequent clashes with captain Michael Atherton. Illingworth tried to tell his side of the storey in his book One-Man Committee but was accused of taking the game into disgrace and fined £2,000 for remarks against bowler Devon Malcolm. The fine was overturned on appeal.

Illingworth, who was known for being combative and never afraid to speak his views, struggled to interact with most England players as a manager.

On Saturday night, England and Wales Cricket Board executive chairman Tom Harrison expressed gratitude to Illingworth, saying that It is always tremendously painful to lose a person who has done so much to the English game and the sport of cricket in general.

Ray was a fantastic cricketer, and his love, enthusiasm, and understanding of the game allowed him to keep contributing long after his playing days were over. They express their condolences and best wishes to Ray’s friends and family at this sad time.

Yorkshire paid tribute to the club’s most accomplished skipper in recent times. Ray Illingworth died suddenly, and the county said in a message that it was profoundly grieved to know of his death. His performance at the county level was matched on the international stage when he captained England for a long time.

Ray’s family and the larger Yorkshire family who held Ray in such high regard are in their thoughts.

Everyone at Leicestershire County Cricket Club is genuinely, very saddened to learn of the death of team captain Ray Illingworth, as per the club. At this terrible moment, their prayers are with Illy’s relatives.

Illingworth was an honorary life member of the Marylebone Cricket Club, which was “extremely sad” to learn of his passing.

According to Farsley Cricket Club, Cricket has lost a terrific man, for whom Illingworth continued to prepare pitches for several times.

Illingworth performed for Yorkshire from 1951 to 1968, taking them to three consecutive County Championship triumphs in his final three years before entering Leicestershire in 1969 and remaining there until 1978.

He returned to Yorkshire as a squad manager before returning as a player in 1982, at the age of 50.

Shirley Illingworth, Illingworth’s spouse, died of cancer previously this year, and Illingworth had indicated sympathy for reforms to the law regarding assisted dying.

He doesn’t want to go through what his wife has gone through in the previous year. He stated She was in excruciating pain as she was transferred from hospital to hospital.

It’s not worth it to believe in assisted death. There was no joy in life in the previous 12 months because of his wife’s condition, and he doesn’t see the sense of living like that, to be truthful.

However, because assisted dying is not yet in existence in England, they do not have options. They discuss it, and He believes it will happen sooner or later.

Many physicians are opposed to it, and they’d have to live as the Illingworth’s wife did in her final 12 months; they may reconsider.

In November 2021, he had revealed that he was receiving treatment for esophageal cancer. He had lost his wife due to cancer earlier in the year.