Former England cricket captain Ray Illingworth, 89, passes away

(Source: Twitter)

London: Ray Illingworth, a former England cricket captain, has died. He was 89.

Illingworth, who led England to a test series victory in Australia in 1970-71, had been undergoing radiotherapy for esophageal cancer. Yorkshire, the English county Illingworth played for, announced his death.

"Our thoughts are with Ray's family and the wider Yorkshire family who held Ray so dear to their hearts," Yorkshire tweeted.

We are deeply saddened to learn that Ray Illingworth has passed away.

Our thoughts are with Ray's family and the wider Yorkshire family who held Ray so dear to their hearts #OneRose pic.twitter.com/nvQa2f7RMz— Yorkshire CCC (@YorkshireCCC) December 25, 2021

Illingworth played 61 test matches for England between 1958 and 1973, scoring 1,836 runs at an average of 23.24 and he claimed 122 wickets.

He captained England 31 times, winning 12 of those matches.