'Fearless' John Edrich passes away at 83

John Edrich

England's former "fearless" opening batsman John Edrich has died at the age of 83, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Friday. Diagnosed with leukaemia in 2000 the left-hander who played for county side Surrey scored 103 first-class centuries. He played 77 Tests, scoring 5,138 runs at an average of 43.54.

Former England great Ian Botham wrote on Twitter: "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".

ECB CEO Tom Harrison said: "With John's passing, we've lost a prolific and fearless batsman-one of the select few who have scored more than 5,000 runs for England.