Eileen Ash, oldest Test cricketer, passes away at 110

Ash, who was the oldest Test cricketer, made her debut for England against Australia in 1937, and played seven Tests in all, taking 10 wickets at 23, including best figures of 3/35.

Her career was interrupted by the Second World War – she was seconded to MI6, the UK's intelligence service – and retired from the sport in 1949, the clash against New Zealand in Auckland that year being her last for England.

In 2017, 80 years after she made her international debut, Ash rang the bell at Lord’s ahead of England’s thrilling victory against India in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017 Final.

Two years later, in 2019, a portrait of Ash was unveiled at the Home of Cricket, a ground at which she was afforded life-long honorary MCC Membership.

Clare Connor, the ECB Managing Director of Women’s Cricket, said: “Our sport owes so much to its pioneers and Eileen was one of them. I am deeply sad to be saying goodbye to her today.

“Heather (Knight) and I went to visit Eileen about six months before the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup – she was 105 at the time – and it was one of the most remarkable experiences. Eileen taught Heather yoga, we played snooker, we drank cups of tea and we leafed through newspapers and scrapbooks celebrating Eileen’s time as a player in the 1930s and 1940s.

“She regaled us with some amazing stories, including how she came to have her bat signed by Sir Donald Bradman at a French restaurant in Sydney in 1949! I know neither of us will ever forget that day, it was so special.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Eileen’s family as they come to terms with losing such a wonderful woman and the end of an astonishing life.”