Essex and England star Insole dies at 91
DOUG INSOLE, one of the most significant figures in English cricket administration in the second half of the 20th century, has died. He was 91. A middle-order batsman for Cambridge University and Essex, he won nine England caps, scoring an unbeaten 110 against South Africa at Durban in 1957. In all, he scored more than 25,000 first-class runs, including 54 hundreds. But it was as a selector for 19 years that he became best known. He was involved in the infamous Basil D’Oliveira affair, which led to the cancellation of England’s tour of South Africa in 1968-69. D’Oliveira was originally left out of the party, to the delight of the apartheid regime in South Africa, but was picked after an injury to Tom Cartwright. Insole later managed two Ashes tours and was also chairman of the TCCB, precursor to the ECB. He was awarded a CBE for service to cricket in 1979 and in 2006, at the age of 80, was named president of MCC. A statement from Essex County Cricket Club read: ‘Doug was one of the most outstanding players and administrators in cricket and affectionately known by everyone at the Club as “Mr Essex”.’