Former England and Sussex captain Ted Dexter has died at the age of 86.
Dexter, nicknamed “Lord Ted”, was an aggressive batsman and useful sewer who played 62 Tests for England and was the captain between 1961-1964.
It led Sussex to victory in the first two editions of the limited edition Gillette Cup and made a surprise comeback in two Tests in 1968.
In a statement, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) described Dexter as “one of England’s greatest cricketers of all time”.
“He has captained 30 of his 62 test matches and played the game with the same sense of adventure and fun that captures much of the story of his remarkable life.”
The statement added that Dexter died peacefully with his family around noon at Compton Hospice in Wolverhampton on Thursday, August 25th.
As a medium-order attacking batsman, Dexter averaged 4,502 runs at an average of 47.89 for England and took 66 wickets at 34.9.
He was known for the force with which he hit the ball and arguably his most famous inning was at Lord’s against the West Indies in 1963, when he got into the game 0-1 and crushed 70 of 73 deliveries. And six of its nine test centuries were greater than 140.
He missed the 1964-65 launch tour of South Africa to run for the Conservative Party candidate for Cardiff South East, but joined the team as vice-captain after finishing second in the parish.
Upon retirement, he helped develop a ranking system for playtesters and chaired the selection for England.
The ranking system was adopted by the International Cricket Council and formed the basis of today’s system.
However, he had a difficult time as a selector after inheriting a weakened English team between 1989 and 1993.
He was later named President of the Marylebone Cricket Club and received a CBE in 2001.
