Former Worcestershire spinner Gifford dies aged 85
Norman Gifford took 1,615 first-class wickets for Worcestershire and 341 for Warwickshire in his career
- Published
Legendary former Worcestershire spinner and captain Norman Gifford MBE has died at the age of 85.
Slow left-armer Gifford, who played in 15 Test matches for England, played for Worcestershire for 22 years between 1960 and 1982, taking 1,615 first-class wickets and winning the County Championship in 1964 and 1965 and again, as captain, 10 years later.
He also led the Pears to the Sunday League title in 1971.
Gifford, who is second to leg-spinner Reg Perks on Worcestershire's all-time list of wicket-takers, claimed more than 100 wickets in a season three times, with his best haul of 133 in 1961.
He took five wickets in an innings 76 times and finished with 10 in a match on 12 occasions.
"It's really sad news," Worcestershire chief executive Ashley Giles told BBC Hereford & Worcester.
"He was a wise voice on cricket here and will be very sadly missed."
Giles called Gifford's 22 years' service to the club "extraordinary" and the fact he went on to play and captain Warwickshire afterwards "another incredible achievement".
"He took 1,600 wickets which is certainly beyond any modern thinking but it's the man and the character that we will miss."
Gifford played well into his forties and spent five years with Warwickshire after leaving New Road, playing his final game - aptly at Worcestershire - in August 1989, at the age of 48.
He captained the Bears between 1985 and 1987 and finished with 471 wickets in first-class and List A cricket in his time at Edgbaston.
In Gifford's first season as skipper he took 100 wickets in a season for the fourth time in his career, claiming 104 in 1985.
He ended his career with 2,068 wickets in 710 first-class matches.
Worcestershire and Warwickshire compete for the Norman Gifford Trophy every time they play each other in the T20 Blast competition
Gifford made his England debut against Australia in the second Test the 1964 Ashes series, taking three wickets in the first innings and two in the second of the rain-affected draw.
He played in England's defeat in the third Test at Headingley but did not feature for his country again until 1971.
Gifford took 33 wickets in his 15 Tests with a best of 5-55 against Pakistan in Karachi in March 1973.
He also played two one-day internationals - at the age of 44 - in a quadrangular series in Sharjah in 1985 and stood in as captain in his second, and final, appearance against Pakistan becoming the oldest ODI debutant captain in international cricket.
Gifford also had coaching roles at Sussex, Durham and back at Worcestershire where, in his later years, he became club president in 2017 and went on to receive an honorary life presidency role.
Since 2016, in recognition of his contribution to both Worcestershire and Warwickshire, the Norman Gifford Trophy is awarded to the winner of the T20 Blast matches between the two clubs.
