Jack Bannister dead: Pioneer, paceman and pundit dies aged 85

Cricket commentator took 1,198 first-class wickets for Warwickshire - yet was never capped for England

Bannister’s greatest feat was perhaps his leading role in the formation of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (Rex)

Former Warwickshire seamer and BBC commentator Jack Bannister has died at the age of 85. He was never capped by England despite taking 1,198 first-class wickets in a 368-match career that spanned almost two decades from 1950-69.

Bannister was a member of the Warwickshire sides that won the County Championship in 1951 and the Gillette Cup in 1966. His 10 for 41 against Combined Services in 1959 are still the best figures taken by a Warwickshire bowler.

Bannister became a journalist with the Birmingham Post, and continued writing for 40 years. After beginning work on TV as a summariser, he turned to commentary in 1988 and worked for the BBC until 1999.

Arguably Bannister’s greatest feat was his leading role in the formation of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, the players’ union. He served as secretary, chairman and president for 20 years, and set up a pension scheme for county players.

Darren Lehmann, the Australia coach, was hospitalised yesterday after being diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis during the final ODI against India. He previously suffered the condition in 2007.

West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has retired from international cricket aged 41. Known for his durability and unorthodox style, he played 164 Tests and is seventh in the all-time list of Test run-scorers with 11,867 runs at an average of 51.37 with 30 centuries. He also scored 11 ODI centuries in 268 matches.

The head of the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption Unit, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, has described as “absolutely preposterous nonsense” claims that they did a deal to protect New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum from punishment for his delay in reporting an alleged match-fixing approach.

McCullum told the ICC that he to had been approached in 2008 by former team-mate Chris Cairns to fix matches, but he did not tell the governing body until 2011.