The ex-Kent and England skipper has died after a long battle with cancer.
Former England Test captain Mike Denness has died at the age of 72 after battling with cancer for some time.
Denness was born in Scotland and became the first cricketer from the country to skipper England, playing 28 Test matches and 12 one-day internationals in a career that spanned 21 years.
The Scot was the five-day captain for 19 games, but famously had a dispute with opening batsman Geoffrey Boycott who felt he should have been awarded the leadership and Boycott therefore only played one match under Denness.
During the 1974/75 tour of Australia the Kent batsman made the headlines for scoring 188 at the MCG – the highest score by an Englishman in the country at that time – as well as dropping himself for the fourth Test in Sydney.
Denness also scored over 25,000 first-class runs after spending time at both Kent and Essex.
A stylish and assured player with the bat, Denness didn’t perhaps get as many opportunities for the national side as he should have and he was dropped as captain after losing to the Aussies at Edgbaston in 1975.
Following retirement from playing the Scotsman became an international referee for the ICC.
In 2001/02 Denness’ decision to sanction six Indian players, including Sachin Tendulkar, during a Test match with South Africa, caused such a level of controversy that the Indian and South African boards banned the former Three Lion from officiating their games.
In the 2013 New Years Honours list Denness was awarded an OBE for his services to cricket.
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