Tony Pawson, a member of the famous Pegasus team in the 1950s and an exceptional all-round sportsman, has died at the age of 91. Born in Chertsey, Surrey, in 1921, Mr Pawson studied at Christ Church, Oxford, and scored a century on his cricketing debut against Gloucestershire in 1947. He went on to play 69 first-class matches for Kent, scoring 3,807 runs at an average of 37.32. But it was his skill on the wing for ‘The Pegs’ – made up of Oxford and Cambridge University players – that will be remembered most. He helped them win the Amateur Cup with a 2-1 triumph over Bishop Auckland in 1951 and was back at Wembley two years later in front of a full house of 100,000 as Pegasus thumped Harwich & Parkstone 6-0. He also played for the England Amateur XI and was a member of the GB Olympic squad in 1948, going on to make two first division appearances for Charlton.

After a spell as personnel manager with Reed International, he took over as cricket correspondent for the Observer in 1968. He wrote his autobiography ‘Runs and Catches’ in 1980. A keen angler, he won the world fly fishing title in 1984 and was awarded the OBE four years later after campaigning to improve access for disabled anglers.