WORCESTERSHIRE CCC have paid tribute to former captain Norman Gifford MBE who has died at the age of 85.
Gifford died at the age of 85 following a prolonged battle with illness.
He captained the Pears in an illustrious playing career and also won the County Championship with Worcestershire in 1964.
The spin bowler helped Worcestershire win back-to-back County Championship titles in 1964 and 1965 and captained the county to a third title in 1974.
Gifford represented the county for 22 years between 1960 and 1982.
He earned a contract at New Road after seeing an advert in a cricket magazine to trial at the club.
The spin bowler took a remarkable 1,615 first-class wickets during his more than two decades with the Pears.
Gifford played 15 tests for England between 1964 and 1973 and captained his country at the age of 44-years-old in two one-day internationals in 1985.
He received a nomination for Wisden cricketer of the year in 1975 and was awarded an MBE for services to cricket three years later.
Following his 22-year stint at New Road he spent the final five years of his career with Warwickshire.
In total, he took a staggering 2,068 first-class wickets before retiring from the sport in 1988 at the age of 48-years-old.
Gifford returned to Worcestershire as club president in 2017 while the county awarded him an honorary vice president role two years later.
Both Worcestershire and Warwickshire recognised his contributions to the respective counties in 2016.
The two clubs now compete for the Norman Gifford Trophy in both T20 Blast derby matches every year.
