John Cecil Watkins (10 April 1923 – 3 September 2021) was a South African

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played in 15

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

between 1949 and 1957. At the time of his death aged 98, Watkins was the oldest living Test cricketer and the last surviving member of the side that toured Australasia in 1952–53.

Career

Watkins was a hard-hitting middle-order batsman, medium-pace bowler, and expert slips fieldsman. He played two Tests against Australia in South Africa in 1949–50, but was unable to get leave to go on the tour of England in 1951. His best series with the bat was in Australia in 1952–53, when he made 352 runs at 35.20. In the Fifth Test at Melbourne, after Australia batted first and made 520, Watkins, batting at number three, hit 92 (his highest Test score) and 50 to help South Africa to victory by six wickets, to square the series two-all. His best bowling figures came in the next Test, against New Zealand at Wellington, where he opened the bowling, taking 4 for 22 in the second innings and figures of 50.5–31–51–5 for the match; again South Africa won. In his five Tests against New Zealand (in 1952–53 in New Zealand and in 1953–54 in South Africa) he took 18 wickets at 13.50. He played for

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

from 1946–47 to 1957–58, with a highest score of 169 against

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

at Durban in 1950–51, and one other century, 144 against

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, also at Durban, in 1955–56. His best bowling figures were 5 for 37 against

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

at Salisbury in 1957–58, in his second-last match.

Christopher Martin-Jenkins Christopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins, MBE (20 January 1945 – 1 January 2013), also known as CMJ, was a British cricket journalist and a President of MCC. He was also the longest serving commentator for ''Test Match Special'' (TMS) on B ...

described him as "a right-handed batsman with a fine range of scoring strokes – his batting, like the man himself, was cavalier and joyous".

Personal life

Watkins was born in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, and grew up there. He suffered from mild deformities of the hips and lower back from birth, which eventually required five operations after he retired from playing cricket. After his schooling at Glenwood High School, he served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in Italy, at first as a trainee

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pilot until it was discovered that he was

colour-blind Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some aca ...

, after which he was transferred to air traffic control. He worked as a secretary-accountant. He was the last surviving member of the side that toured Australasia in 1952–53. Following the death of

Lindsay Tuckett Lindsay Tuckett (6 February 1919 – 5 September 2016) was a South African cricketer who played in nine Test matches from 1947 to 1949. Biography The son of one Test player, Len Tuckett, and the nephew of another, Joe Cox, Lindsay Tuckett ...

on 5 September 2016, Watkins became the oldest living Test cricketer. He died on 3 September 2021, in Durban from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

at the age of 98.John Watkins, former South African Test cricketer, passes away at 98
/ref>John Watkins dies aged 98 ten days after contracting Covid-19
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, John 1923 births 2021 deaths Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa South African military personnel of World War II South Africa Test cricketers South African cricketers KwaZulu-Natal cricketers Cricketers from Durban White South African people