Former England captain Donald Carr has died, at the age of 89, it was announced on Sunday. The MCC flag at Lord’s, where England was playing Sri Lanka in the third Test, flew at half-mast as a mark of respect.
Carr played twice for England, once as captain, on the 1951/52 tour of India. He made almost 20,000 first-class runs, in a 23-year career, was Derbyshire captain between 1955 and 1962 and a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1960.
But Carr became better known as a cricket administrator, serving as secretary of the Test and County Cricket Board — the forerunner of the current England and Wales Cricket Board. Carr was also an assistant secretary of MCC, managed three England overseas tours and later became an International Cricket Council match referee.
Paying tribute to Carr, ECB chairman Colin Graves said: “Cricket has lost one of its greatest friends; someone who gave a lifetime of service to our game; as a cricketer, a captain, a club secretary, an England tour manager, and, of course, as a senior administrator — serving MCC and the TCCB with distinction in a leadership role as the game moved into the modern, professional era; and always meeting the many difficult challenges he faced during this period with his customary good humour and charm. He will be hugely missed by those who worked and played with him, and we send our condolences and sympathies to all in the Carr family.”
MCC president Roger Knight added: “Donald’s career in cricket, especially at Lord’s, is unlikely ever to be surpassed.”
Carr’s son, John Carr, also became a first-class cricketer, with Middlesex, and later followed his father into cricket administration.
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