Cricket stars attend funeral for former England captain Brian Close
Wednesday 30 September 2015 16:38, UK
Sir Ian Botham and Dickie Bird were among the guests to attend the funeral of former England captain Brian Close on Wednesday.
Close, who lived in Baildon, died at the age of 84 earlier in September after a long battle with cancer.
A service of Thanksgiving took place at St Chad's Church in Leeds on Wednesday afternoon where a number of cricketing legends joined the family to celebrate his life.
Close, widely regarded as one of his country's greatest captains and renowned for his brave batting, remains England's youngest-ever Test player having made his debut in 1949 against New Zealand at Old Trafford aged 18.
In a moving tribute, Botham, whose talents alongside Sir Viv Richards were nurtured by Close during his time as Somerset, said: "He was the first man to congratulate you but he was also the first man to pull you down and take your legs away from you if you didn't get it right.
"But then in the evening he'd be the first guy to come up put his arm around you and say, 'Ian lad, come here, that's what I thought was wrong... but here's a drink, let's learn from that and move on'.
"He was just an inspiration. None of us really expected this to happen because we thought he would probably go on until he was about 150, he was indestructible.
"He certainly played a massive part in my life, not just on the field of sport but also through me and my wife Kath, and her mum and dad's friendship with Brian and his wife Viv. I've got a lot to thank him for."
Close's international career spanned 27 years, but took in only 22 Tests, and he was unbeaten on the seven occasions he captained his country.
He led Yorkshire to four County Championship titles in the 1960s before moving on to Somerset, and hit almost 35,000 first-class runs.
Former Yorkshire and England captain and long-standing team-mate Ray Illingworth added: "A lot of people say Brian was a hard man and things like that, but really he was a softy at heart you know.
"He could be hard on the cricket field, but he could do a good turn for anybody and as far as I'm concerned, well he was my best man.
"He was also godfather to my eldest daughter. That's the sort of bloke he was for me. It's a sad day. We go back a long way. There won't be another like him. It's been shown by a wonderful turnout and the tributes. I think it's tremendous."
Former Test umpire Dickie Bird OBE said: "It was a wonderful service with some wonderful tributes.
"It was nice to see Sir Ian Botham come all the way from Scotland to be here. It just shows the respect he had for Brian Close. Brian was a tremendous captain and a wonderful man. I shall miss him and feel for his wife Viv and all her family.
"He was a hard man, believe me, but a good man."
Close played in 536 first-class matches for Yorkshire between 1949 and 1970, before a six-year spell at Somerset. He scored 22,650 runs with 33 centuries, captured 967 wickets for Yorkshire and took 564 catches, the majority from his specialist short-leg position.
He captained Yorkshire from 1963-1970 when he led them through one of the most successful periods in their history, winning the Gillette Cup twice alongside the aforementioned four county championship titles.
Close leaves a widow, Vivienne, and a son and a daughter.
