ENGLAND'S oldest former Test cricketer and one-time Somerset captain Norman Mandy' Mitchell-Innes died last Thursday aged 92.

He was the last surviving England cricketer to play before the Second World War.

His only Test appearance was against South Africa in 1935.

After scoring just five on his England debut, he was retained for the Second Test at Lord's, but pulled out with hay fever, telling the selectors: "I might be sneezing just as a catch came in the slips."

Mandy, who was born in Calcutta, once scored 302 not out in a house match at Sedburgh School.

He made his Somerset debut aged just 16 in 1931 at the County Ground, Taunton, when he scored 23 and took two wickets against Warwickshire.

Later, at Oxford University his 168 against South Africa earned him his Test call-up.

Although he failed to play for England again, he was picked for the MCC tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1935-6, when he struggled.

The following summer he skippered Oxford University and hit 43 and 84 against Cambridge, despite finishing on the losing side.

He had a good summer with Somerset in 1936, but his appearances were limited after he joined the Sudan Political Service the next year.

He played the odd game until 1949 with limited success while on annual leave, captaining the county on four occasions after the War.

He played 69 first-class matches for Somerset, scoring 2,835 runs at an average of 24.23, including three centuries and a top score of 182 against Worcestershire at Kidderminster in 1936.

He took 31 wickets at an average of 35.68, with a personal best of four for 65 against Sussex at Eastbourne in 1934.

He played a total of 132 first-class matches, scoring 6,944 runs, with 13 centuries and an average of 31.42 and taking 82 wickets at 34.79.

He retired from the political service in 1954 and became company secretary with a brewery in the north of England.

Eric Hill, who played for Somerset alongside Mitchell-Innes after the War, said: "He was a lovely man and a real gentleman - much too nice for the job of captaincy which he rather had thrust upon him.

"He was a very stylish and correct batsman and certainly all of my memories of Mandy are very pleasant indeed."