Lists of oldest cricketers

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This is a set of lists of the oldest Test and first-class cricketers.

Oldest living Test cricketers[]

Name Country Date of birth Debut Last match Age as of 29 December 2021
Ronald Draper South Africa 24 December 1926 10 February 1950 6 March 1950 95 years, 5 days
Ken Archer Australia 17 January 1928 22 December 1950 5 December 1951 93 years, 346 days
Neil Harvey Australia 8 October 1928 22 January 1948 20 February 1963 93 years, 82 days
Datta Gaekwad India 27 October 1928 5 June 1952 18 January 1961 93 years, 63 days
Sonny Ramadhin West Indies 1 May 1929 8 June 1950 3 January 1961 92 years, 242 days
Jack Rutherford Australia 25 September 1929 26 October 1956 31 October 1956 92 years, 95 days
Trevor McMahon New Zealand 8 November 1929 13 October 1955 6 February 1956 92 years, 51 days
Wazir Mohammad Pakistan 22 December 1929 13 November 1952 13 November 1959 92 years, 7 days
C. D. Gopinath India 1 March 1930 14 March 1951 28 January 1960 91 years, 303 days
Ian Leggat New Zealand 7 June 1930 1 January 1954 5 January 1954 91 years, 205 days

Oldest living Test cricketers by country[]

Country Player Age as of 29 December 2021
Afghanistan Mohammad Nabi 36 years, 362 days
Australia Ken Archer 93 years, 346 days
Bangladesh Enamul Haque 55 years, 305 days
England Jim Parks 90 years, 69 days
India Datta Gaekwad 93 years, 63 days
Ireland Ed Joyce 43 years, 98 days
New Zealand Trevor McMahon 92 years, 51 days
Pakistan Wazir Mohammad 92 years, 7 days
South Africa Ronald Draper 95 years, 5 days
Sri Lanka Somachandra de Silva 79 years, 201 days
West Indies Sonny Ramadhin 92 years, 242 days
Zimbabwe John Traicos 74 years, 226 days

Note: Twenty-seven first-class cricketers are known to have attained centenarian status (see relevant section below).

Source:[1]

Oldest Test cricketers still playing at Test level[]

Name Country Date of birth Debut Age as of 29 December 2021
Dilruwan Perera Sri Lanka 22 July 1982 17 January 2014 39 years, 160 days
James Anderson England 30 July 1982 22 May 2003 39 years, 152 days
Ross Taylor New Zealand 8 March 1984 8 November 2007 37 years, 296 days

Oldest Test cricketers still playing at Test level, by country[]

Country Name Age as of 29 December 2021
Afghanistan Amir Hamza 30 years, 136 days
Australia Tim Paine 37 years, 21 days
Bangladesh Shakib Al Hasan 34 years, 280 days
England James Anderson 39 years, 152 days
India Wriddhiman Saha 37 years, 66 days
Ireland William Porterfield 37 years, 114 days
New Zealand Ross Taylor 37 years, 296 days
Pakistan Azhar Ali 36 years, 313 days
South Africa Dean Elgar 34 years, 201 days
Sri Lanka Dilruwan Perera 39 years, 160 days
West Indies Shannon Gabriel 33 years, 245 days
Zimbabwe Craig Ervine 36 years, 132 days

Note: The above lists include players who have played Test cricket within the past 24 months and have not formally announced their retirement.

Longest-lived Test cricketers[]

Norman Gordon of South Africa, the only Test cricketer to live to 100
Bill Brown, longest-lived Australian Test cricketer

See also Oldest living Test cricketers above.

Name Country Date of birth Debut Last match Date of death Age
Norman Gordon South Africa 6 August 1911 24 December 1938 14 March 1939 2 September 2014 103 years, 27 days
Eric Tindill New Zealand 18 December 1910 26 June 1927 25 March 1947 1 August 2010 99 years, 226 days
Francis MacKinnon England 9 April 1848 2 January 1879 4 January 1879 27 February 1947 98 years, 324 days
John Watkins South Africa 10 April 1923 24 December 1949 5 January 1957 3 September 2021 98 years, 146 days
Lindsay Tuckett South Africa 6 February 1919 7 June 1947 9 March 1949 5 September 2016 97 years, 212 days
Donald Smith England 14 June 1923 20 June 1957 27 July 1957 10 January 2021 97 years, 210 days
Jack Kerr New Zealand 28 December 1910 27 June 1931 27 July 1937 27 May 2007 96 years, 150 days
Wilfred Rhodes England 29 October 1877 1 June 1899 12 April 1930 8 July 1973 95 years, 252 days
Bill Brown Australia 31 July 1912 8 June 1934 29 June 1948 16 March 2008 95 years, 229 days
Lindsay Weir New Zealand 2 June 1908 24 January 1930 17 August 1937 31 October 2003 95 years, 151 days
Everton Weekes West Indies 26 February 1925 21 January 1948 31 March 1958 1 July 2020 95 years, 126 days
Andy Ganteaume West Indies 22 January 1921 11 February 1948 16 February 1948 17 February 2016 95 years, 26 days
Sydney Barnes England 19 April 1873 13 December 1901 18 February 1914 26 December 1967 94 years, 251 days
Esmond Kentish West Indies 21 November 1916 27 March 1948 21 January 1954 10 June 2011 94 years, 201 days
M. J. Gopalan India 6 June 1909 5 January 1934 8 January 1934 21 December 2003 94 years, 198 days
Ron Hamence Australia 25 November 1915 28 February 1947 5 January 1948 24 March 2010 94 years, 119 days
Denis Begbie South Africa 12 December 1914 6 December 1948 6 March 1950 10 March 2009 94 years, 88 days
Jack Newman New Zealand 3 July 1902 27 February 1932 3 April 1933 23 September 1996 94 years, 82 days
Don Cleverley New Zealand 23 December 1909 27 February 1932 30 March 1946 16 February 2004 94 years, 55 days

Source:[2][3]

Oldest Test debutants[]

James Southerton, the oldest player on debut
Name Country Date of birth Debut Age at debut
James Southerton England 16 November 1827 15 March 1877 49 years, 119 days
Miran Bakhsh Pakistan 20 April 1907 29 January 1955 47 years, 284 days
Don Blackie Australia 5 April 1882 14 December 1928 46 years, 253 days
Bert Ironmonger Australia 7 April 1882 30 November 1928 46 years, 237 days
Nelson Betancourt West Indies 4 June 1887 1 February 1930 42 years, 242 days
Rockley Wilson England 25 March 1879 25 February 1921 41 years, 337 days
Rustomji Jamshedji India 18 November 1892 15 December 1933 41 years, 27 days

Oldest Test debutant by country[]

Country Name Age at debut
Australia Don Blackie 46 years, 253 days
Bangladesh Enamul Haque 35 years, 58 days
England James Southerton 49 years, 119 days
India Rustomji Jamshedji 41 years, 27 days
Ireland Ed Joyce 39 years, 232 days
New Zealand Herb McGirr 38 years, 101 days
Pakistan Miran Bakhsh 47 years, 284 days
South Africa Omar Henry 40 years, 295 days
Sri Lanka Somachandra de Silva 39 years, 251 days
West Indies Nelson Betancourt 42 years, 242 days
Zimbabwe Andy Waller 37 years, 84 days

Note: John Traicos debuted for Zimbabwe at the age of 45 years, 154 days, but had already played three Tests for South Africa 22 years prior.[4]

Note: The oldest debutant, James Southerton, was also the first Test cricketer to die (on 16 June 1880). Miran Bakhsh was known as Miran Bux during his playing career.

The longest-lived first-class cricketer is believed to have been John Manners. See also Longest-lived first-class cricketers below.

Source:[5]

Oldest Test cricketers on final appearance[]

Name Country Date of birth Test Debut Last match Age at last Test
Wilfred Rhodes England 29 October 1877 1 June 1899 12 April 1930 52 years, 165 days
Bert Ironmonger Australia 7 April 1882 30 November 1928 28 February 1933 50 years, 327 days
WG Grace England 18 July 1848 6 September 1880 3 June 1899 50 years, 320 days
George Gunn England 13 June 1879 13 December 1907 12 April 1930 50 years, 303 days
James Southerton England 16 November 1827 15 March 1877 4 April 1877 49 years, 139 days
Miran Bakhsh Pakistan 20 April 1907 29 January 1955 16 February 1955 47 years, 302 days
Sir Jack Hobbs England 16 December 1882 1 January 1908 22 August 1930 47 years, 249 days
Frank Woolley England 27 May 1887 9 August 1909 22 August 1934 47 years, 87 days
Don Blackie Australia 5 April 1882 14 December 1928 8 February 1929 46 years, 309 days
Bert Strudwick England 28 January 1880 1 January 1910 18 August 1926 46 years, 202 days

Oldest Test cricketers on final appearance by country[]

Wilfred Rhodes, England Test cricketer from 1899 until 1930
Country Name Age
Australia Bert Ironmonger 50 years, 327 days
Bangladesh Mohammad Rafique 37 years, 180 days
England Wilfred Rhodes 52 years, 165 days
India Vinoo Mankad 41 years, 305 days
Ireland Ed Joyce 39 years, 231 days
New Zealand Jack Alabaster 41 years, 247 days
Pakistan Miran Bakhsh 47 years, 302 days
South Africa Dave Nourse 45 years, 207 days
Sri Lanka Somachandra de Silva 42 years, 78 days
West Indies George Headley 44 years, 236 days
Zimbabwe John Traicos 45 years, 304 days

Note: The Test career of Wilfred Rhodes spanned a record 30 years, 315 days. England's youngest Test cricketer and another Yorkshireman, Brian Close (born 24 February 1931), lies second in this regard. He made his debut against New Zealand in 1949 and was recalled, after an absence of almost nine years, to oppose West Indies in 1976 (his career lasting 26 years, 356 days).

Source:[6]

Longest-lived first-class cricketers[]

This list includes all those first-class players who are known to have lived to 100.[7]

  Deceased   Living

Rank Name Team(s) Birth date Death date Age Nationality
1 John Manners Hampshire, Combined Services 25 September 1914 7 March 2020 105 years, 225 days  England
2 Jim Hutchinson Derbyshire 29 November 1896 7 November 2000 103 years, 344 days  England
3 Syd Ward Wellington 5 August 1907 31 December 2010 103 years, 148 days  New Zealand
4 Norman Gordon South Africa, Transvaal 6 August 1911 2 September 2014 103 years, 27 days  South Africa
5 Rupert de Smidt Western Province 23 November 1883 3 August 1986 102 years, 253 days  South Africa
6 Edward English Hampshire 1 January 1864 5 September 1966 102 years, 247 days  England
7 Cyril Perkins Northamptonshire, Minor Counties 4 June 1911 21 November 2013 102 years, 170 days  England
8 John Wheatley Canterbury 8 January 1860 19 April 1962 102 years, 101 days  New Zealand
9 Archie Scott Scotland 26 January 1918 1 November 2019 101 years, 272 days  Scotland
10 Ted Martin Western Australia 30 September 1902 9 June 2004 101 years, 253 days  Australia
11 D. B. Deodhar Hindus, Maharashtra 14 January 1892 24 August 1993 101 years, 222 days  India
12 George Harman Dublin University 6 June 1874 14 December 1975 101 years, 191 days  Ireland
13 Fred Gibson Leicestershire 13 February 1912 28 June 2013 101 years, 135 days  Jamaica (lived in  England)
14 Alan Finlayson Eastern Province 1 September 1900 28 October 2001 101 years, 57 days  South Africa
15 Alexander McAllister Scotland 19 December 1920 Living 101 years, 10 days  Scotland
16 Neil McCorkell Hampshire, Players 23 March 1912 28 February 2013 100 years, 342 days  England
17 Raghunath Chandorkar Bombay 21 November 1920 3 September 2021 100 years, 286 days  India
18 Geoffrey Beck Oxford University 16 June 1918 5 March 2019 100 years, 262 days  England
19 Harold Stapleton New South Wales 7 January 1915 24 September 2015 100 years, 260 days  Australia
20 Alan Burgess Canterbury 1 May 1920 5 January 2021 100 years, 249 days  New Zealand
21 Charles Braithwaite English Residents, Players of USA 10 September 1845 15 April 1946 100 years, 217 days  United States
22 Harry Forsyth Dublin University 18 December 1903 19 July 2004 100 years, 214 days  Ireland
23 Jack Laver Tasmania 9 March 1917 3 October 2017 100 years, 208 days  Australia
24 Tom Pritchard Wellington, Warwickshire 10 March 1917 22 August 2017 100 years, 165 days  New Zealand
25 Bernarr Notley Nottinghamshire 31 August 1918 22 January 2019 100 years, 144 days  England
26 Vasant Raiji Bombay, Baroda 26 January 1920 13 June 2020 100 years, 139 days  India
27 George Deane Hampshire 11 December 1828 26 February 1929 100 years, 77 days  England

Note: Although born in New South Wales, Australia, Syd Ward and John Wheatley appear to have been raised in New Zealand. George Harman, who acquired two Rugby Union caps for Ireland, died in Cornwall. Charles Braithwaite was born in England. Fred Gibson moved to England in 1944. Neil McCorkell was born in England, but lived in South Africa from 1951. The prominent Antiguan cricketer, Sir Sydney Walling, who died aged 102 years, 88 days in October 2009, never appeared in matches accorded first-class status.

The oldest person, and only septuagenarian, to play first-class cricket was Raja Maharaj Singh, aged 72, his sole appearance being for the Bombay Governor's XI against a Commonwealth XI in November 1950.[8] Thirteen players have played first-class cricket in their sixties, most of them in England in the 19th century.[9]

Oldest women cricketers[]

England women's cricketer Eileen Whelan (later Eileen Ash), born 30 October 1911, was the first female Test cricketer to attain centenarian status; she died on 3 December 2021, aged 110 years 34 days.[10] Thelma McKenzie (Australia, born 6 April 1915) was the second to achieve this landmark; she is currently aged 106 years, 267 days.

Oldest living ODI cricketers[]

The first One-Day International took place on 5 January 1971 when Australia played England.

Name Country Date of birth Debut Last match Age as of 29 December 2021
Lance Gibbs West Indies 29 September 1934 5 September 1973 7 June 1975 87 years, 91 days
Rohan Kanhai West Indies 26 December 1935 5 September 1973 21 June 1975 86 years, 3 days
Bob Simpson Australia 3 February 1936 22 February 1978 12 April 1978 85 years, 329 days
Sir Garfield Sobers West Indies 28 July 1936 5 September 1973 5 September 1973 85 years, 154 days
Bill Lawry Australia 11 February 1937 5 January 1971 5 January 1971 84 years, 321 days
Farokh Engineer India 25 February 1938 13 July 1974 14 June 1975 83 years, 307 days
John Nagenda East Africa 25 April 1938 7 June 1975 7 June 1975 83 years, 248 days
Michael Tissera Sri Lanka 23 March 1939 7 June 1975 14 June 1975 82 years, 281 days
Alan Connolly Australia 29 June 1939 5 January 1971 5 January 1971 82 years, 183 days
Ron Headley West Indies 29 June 1939 7 September 1973 7 September 1973 82 years, 183 days

Oldest living Twenty20 International cricketers[]

The first Twenty20 International took place on 17 February 2005 when Australia played New Zealand. The oldest living T20I cricketers are:

  1. Osman Göker of Turkey, currently aged 61 years, 303 days
  2. Cengiz Akyüz of Turkey, currently aged 59 years, 211 days
  3. Serdar Kansoy of Turkey, currently aged 59 years, 176 days
  4. Hasan Alta of Turkey, currently aged 56 years, 218 days
  5. James Moses of Botswana, currently aged 56 years, 143 days
  6. Sunil Dhaniram of Canada, currently aged 53 years, 73 days
  7. Tony Whiteman of Luxembourg, currently aged 52 years, 219 days
  8. Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka, currently aged 52 years, 182 days
  9. Sanjayan Thuraisingam of Canada, currently aged 52 years, 109 days

References[]

  1. ^ Cricinfo: Oldest living players
  2. ^ Cricinfo: Longest lived players
  3. ^ Rediff: Oldest Test cricketers at the time of death
  4. ^ Cricinfo: Traicos debut
  5. ^ BBC Test Match Special, Ask Bearders: "Can you tell me who is the oldest cricket player to make a Test match debut"
  6. ^ Cricinfo: Oldest players
  7. ^ "It takes a rare cricketer to reach a century, not just make one". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  8. ^ Cricinfo: Ripe old age
  9. ^ "First-Class Oldest Players". The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Eileen Ash, 1911-2021". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
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