Former England captain Mike Denness dies

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London: Former England cricket captain Mike Denness has died at the age of 72 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Denness played for England between 1969 and 1974, representing his country in 28 Tests and 12 ODIs. He also captained England in 19 of his 28 Tests. He scored 1,667 Test runs including four centuries at an average of 39.69.

After his playing days, Denness was appointed as the ICC match referee and is perhaps most remembered for sanctioning as many as 6 Indian players with various offences during the 2001 Test at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth against South Africa.

The bans included a 1 Test ban for Sachin Tendulkar for ball tampering, 1 match bans for Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh among others for excessive appealing and a 1 match ban for then-skipper Saurav ganguly for failing to control his team's on-field behaviour. The bans incited vehement protests from the Indian team and the fans back home. Denness too came under some scathing criticism when he failed to explain his actions in a subsequent press-conference. In March 2002, Denness' role as a match referee came to an end, when the ICC failed to select him for their newly formed Elite Panel of Referees.