Two-Time Ashes Winner Dilley Dies
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October 6, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
The former England international fast bowler Graham Dilley has sadly died at the age of 52 after a short illness.
Dilley, who played his club cricket at both Kent and Worcestershire, has died of a short illness at the age of 52.
The England fast bowler played 41 tests and took 138 wickets for England, his most famous of which was against Australia in 1981. He was part of the team that overturned the Australians and won the Ashes; Dilley was at the tail end of the batting and helped Ian Botham lead the team to victory.
Dilley had a number of injuries through out his career which was probably one of the reasons for his early retirement, but after he finished playing the game his involvement with it didn’t stop.
Botham, Dilley’s team mate and friend, said: “He was plagued with injuries, his neck and knees, which probably stopped him playing a lot more for England, but on his day he was the best. I had a lot of great times with him.
“He had a great sense of humour, he always wanted to be part of the party and join in.”
He became the assistant England and Wales cricket coach for a period, then moved on to become the Women’s team bowling coach and eventually became the head coach at Loughborough University.
MCC head of cricket John Stephenson said: “As a coach he made a huge impact as part of the MCC Universities programme. He was central to the progress made at Loughborough over the last decade and he will be much missed by all of us at the club.”
By Jonathan Davies
[Image courtesy of dmmaus]
