(Reuters) – Former Middlesex and England wicketkeeper John Murray has died at the age of 83, the county club said yesterday.
Murray was taken ill at Lord’s shortly after Middlesex’s win over Warwickshire in the county championship match on Tuesday.
He played 21 tests for England and was widely regarded as one of the finest wicketkeeper-batsman the country has produced.
“He is undoubtedly the finest wicketkeeper in the history of the Club and would be one of the first names on any team sheet when picking an all-time Middlesex XI,” Middlesex president John Emburey said in a statement. “He was a Middlesex man through and through and he continued to serve the club magnificently after retirement as a committee man, confidant and, most of all, supporter.
“In many ways, it was fitting that his last day was spent at Lord’s enjoying a Middlesex victory.
Murray played more than 650 times for Middlesex, scoring 17,519 runs during a 24-year career. His record of 1,527 dismissals in first-class cricket is second on the all-time list behind Bob Taylor (1,649).
