GQEBERHA, South Africa, Feb 28, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Ron Draper, who was the 
oldest living Test cricketer, has died in Gqeberha at the age of 98 years and 
63 days, his family said Friday.

Draper, a top-order batsman and occasional wicketkeeper, played in two Test 
matches for South Africa against Australia in 1950.

One of his opponents, Neil Harvey, now becomes the oldest living Test player 
at the age of 96.

Both previous oldest Test cricketers were South Africans -- Norman Gordon, 
who died aged 103 in 2016, and John Watkins, who was 98 when he died in 2021.

Draper, who was born on 24 December 1926, made a century on first-class debut 
for Eastern Province against Orange Free State on his 19th birthday.

After making 86 for the province against the touring Australians in 1949/50 
he was selected for the last two Tests against the tourists but scored only 
25 runs in three innings. By contrast, Harvey, then aged 21 and in the early 
stages of a distinguished Test career, made centuries in both matches.

Draper continued to play first-class cricket until 1959/60 and finished with 
a respectable average of 41.64.

He scored a century before lunch on the first day of his first two matches of 
the 1952/53 season. In the second match, against Border, he added another 
hundred in the second innings to become the first player to score two 
centuries in a match in South Africa's long-established Currie Cup 
competition.

Draper died in a retirement home in Gqeberha on Tuesday. His death was 
confirmed by his son-in-law, Neil Thomson, on Friday.