John Hugh Edrich, (21 June 1937 – 23 December 2020) was an English first-class cricketer who, during a career that ran from 1956 to 1978, was considered one of the best batsmen of his generation. Born in Blofield, Norfolk, Edrich came from a cricketing family, his four cousins, Eric Edrich, Bill Edrich, Geoff Edrich and Brian Edrich, all having played first-class cricket. He was educated at the private Bracondale School between the ages of eight and seventeen, during which time he played cricket at weekends and was coached by former cricketer C. S. R. Boswell. Edrich played for Surrey and England. He was renowned for playing the cut, the cover drive and scoring off his legs, earning over the years a reputation for dogged fearlessness. His statistical achievements show that he was amongst the best players of his generation, playing a total of seventy-seven Test matches for England between 1963 and 1976, and scoring a triple-century in 1965 that is the fifth highest Test score for England. It contained 57 boundaries, which is still a record for any Test innings. A player during the time when One Day International cricket was in its infancy, he played, and top scored, in the first ever ODI match. The cricket writer Colin Bateman described him as "unflinching, unselfish, and often unsmiling while going about his business in the middle, he was a fiercely formidable opener who knew his limitations and worked wonderfully within them". Life and career Having played four first-class matches for Combined Services in 1956 and 1957, whilst doing his national service in the British Army, Edrich made his first-class debut for Surrey in their final fixture of the 1958 season. The following year, he came to the fore, scoring 1,799 runs at an average of 52.91. Over the next four years he and Micky Stewart became a very effective opening partnership for the county, to the extent that both were called up for England for the Test series against the West Indies, who were dominating the sport at this time. Despite Edrich's strong performances for his county, he managed a total of only 108 Test runs in six innings facing bowlers including Hall, Sobers and Griffith. However, an opportunity to break back into the international side arose when Geoffrey Boycott was injured during Australia's tour of England in 1964. Edrich was called up to the side for the Second Test,