Jim Parks: Former England and Sussex wicketkeeper-batsman dies aged 90

Jim Parks won his first Test cap as a specialist batsman – but became an England regular in the mid-1960s after taking up wicketkeeping

Former England wicketkeeper-batsman Jim Parks, one of Sussex’s greatest players, has died at the age of 90.

Parks, who featured in 46 Tests between 1954 and 1968, had been England’s oldest surviving male Test cricketer at the time of his death.

He came from a cricketing family – his father Jim senior, uncle Harry and son Bobby all played first-class cricket.

After 23 years at Sussex, Parks ended his career at Somerset, finishing with 36,673 first-class runs from 739 games.

Born In Haywards Heath, Sussex, Parks was first capped by England as a specialist batsman, with a reputation as an excellent fielder, for a one-off Test in 1954.

He only took up wicketkeeping full-time in 1958, nearly a decade after his first-class debut, when Sussex needed a keeper to replace the retiring Rupert Webb.

But taking the gloves soon earned him a recall to the national side,…

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