Former England captain Denness dies

LONDON: Former England captain Mike Denness died aged 72 on Friday after a long battle with cancer.

Denness was the only Scotsman ever to captain England, leading the team in 19 of his 28 Tests between 1969 and 1975.

He also played 12 one-day internationals and went onto become an ICC match referee.

Denness was awarded an OBE in this year's New Years Honours for services to sport.

Denness played county cricket for Kent and Essex, scoring more than 25,000 runs in his first-class career and captaining Kent to six domestic trophies between 1972 and 1976.

Michael Vaughan, who was England captain for the Ashes series win over
Australia in 2005, wrote on Twitter that he was a "classy batsman and a lovely chap".

Former Kent captain Robert Key added: "Very sad that Mike Denness has
passed away. His is a legacy at Kent that so far has not and may never be surpassed. A lovely man."

Kent chairman George Kennedy said: "This is an extremely sad day for the club. We have lost one of our great players, a very successful captain and a good friend.

"It is particularly sad that this has happened during his year as president. Our thoughts are with Mike's family and friends at this time."

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive David Collier saluted the long-serving Denness for his contributions to the game from player to administrator.

"Mike was a man who gave so much to our game in so many different ways as a player, captain, match referee and administrator," he said. (AFP)