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Oldest living Test cricketer, South Africa's Norman Gordon, turns 103

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ANI Cape Town
Last Updated : Aug 06 2014 | 10:15 AM IST

The world's oldest living Test cricketer, South Africa's Norman Gordon, turned 103 today.

Friend and former Test cricketer Ali Bacher was quoted by Sport24, as saying that Gordon is undefeated at 103, and jocularly added that old age is catching up with him.

Gordon represented South Africa in five Test matches in the 1938/39 season, and is the sole survivor from the "Timeless Test", played against England in Durban in March 1939.

The famous match spanned 10 days and still ended in a draw.

Gordon was in the middle of bowling his 93rd over when the teams finally decided to call it a day as the England team had to dash to catch the mail boat home.

His 92.2, eight-ball, overs bowled in that Test, equating to a mammoth 738 balls, still stands as the most number of balls bowled by a fast bowler in a Test match.

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His Test career ended prematurely with the start of the World War II and he only played a handful of matches after the war before retiring at the end of the 1948/49 season.

Bacher said he had hoped to take Gordon out for lunch on his birthday, but he was not well enough to go out.

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First Published: Aug 06 2014 | 10:07 AM IST

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