Vasant Raiji, the world’s oldest first-class cricketer, died aged 100 in Mumbai yesterday, his son-in-law Sudarsahan Nanavata told Indian media. Raiji, a right-handed batsman, played nine first-class matches between 1938 and 1950, scoring 277 runs at an average of 23.08. He was also a cricket historian.
Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar and former Australia captain Steve Waugh visited Raiji at his Mumbai home on his 100th birthday on January 26. “His warmth and passion for playing and watching Cricket was endearing,” Tendulkar wrote of his meeting with Raiji on Twitter following the announcement of the death.
According to Indian sports statistician Mohandas Menon, New Zealand’s Alan Burgess, who was 100 on May 1, is now the world’s oldest living first-class cricketer.


ECB vows changes to address racism in cricket
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has acknowledged that the sport is not immune to systemic racism and says it will address the issue and try to bring “meaningful and long-term change” to the game.
Athletes across a range of sports have spoken out about racism after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died on May 25 after a white policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis.
“We have listened carefully to those who have spoken out in recent weeks about their experiences of being black in cricket, sport and society,” the ECB said in a statement. 
“We admire them for being vocal on this crucial topic. We know that systemic racism spans institutions and sectors across the country and we know that our sport is not immune. We truly believe that cricket is a game for everyone but understand that sadly, barriers to its enjoyment exist for many communities.”
Former England batsman Michael Carberry said cricket was “rife with racism” while fast bowler James Anderson said the team will consider a joint anti-racism protest with West Indies during their three-test series next month.


 Don’t think it is safe to play cricket until at least October: Gavaskar
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar feels it is not safe to play cricket until the month of October. Gavaskar said that while the Test series between England and West Indies next month in a bio-secure environment will be a good indicator, it is difficult to see cricket happening considering the rate at which the coronavirus pandemic is spreading. “We are all maintaining social distancing and taking precautions according to what the doctors are telling us but the virus seems to show no sign of stopping,” Gavaskar told Hindi news channel Aaj Tak.
“As the rate of testing is increasing so is the number of cases and so I don’t really feel it is safe to play cricket for the next two months at the very least. Maybe until October it is difficult to play cricket. The series between England and West Indies that will happen next month in a bio-secure environment will be a good test. It will help us evaluate if we can play cricket or not.”