Former England and Northamptonshire all-rounder David Capel passed away at the age of 57 due to a prolonged illness.
In 2018, England and Northamptonshire all-rounder David Capel was diagnosed with a brain tumour. After fighting for two years, Capel lost his battle at the age of 57. His passing at home was confirmed by Northamptonshire in a tweet.
The tweet read, ‘It is with incredibly heavy hearts that we announce the death of former Northamptonshire and England great, David Capel at the age of 57’. In response to the said tweet, several first-class English players paid their respects to Capel.
Among those who spoke out is ECB CEO Tom Harrison, he said, ‘This is hugely shocking and sad news for the English Cricket family and particularly those connected with Northants CCC. David was one of the finest all-rounders of his era and spent an astonishing 33 years at Wantage Rd’.
‘I had the privilege of playing with David, a hugely competitive and determined cricketer who was never beaten - an attitude he took into his battle with his illness. A complex and private man on the surface, a kind and gentle one to those who knew him well. I will miss his friendship’, he added.
During his playing career, Capel had made a total of 313 first-class appearances for Northamptonshire between 1981 and 1998. There, he scored a total of 12,202 first-class runs and had claimed 546 wickets for the club. Aside from that, he also played 345 List A games.
In 1987, he also became the first Northamptonshire cricket player to have represented in the English national team in 77 years. His first game with the national team was a game against Pakistan. From there, he went on to play 15 Tests and 23 ODIs for his country.
He retired from playing first-class cricket in 1998. The following year, he became the county’s director of excellence. Years later, he became Northamptonshire’s head coach. To learn more about the said county club, check out Betwala.
READ MORE: What is the T20 Blast League?
