Mike Denness, the only Scottish-born cricketer to have captained England, has died of cancer at the age of 72.

A stylish batsman who played county cricket for Kent and Essex, Denness captained England in 19 of his 28 Tests and scored 25,886 first-class runs.

Leading England in the disappointing 1974-75 Ashes tour, he famously dropped himself for the fourth Test in Sydney.

Denness, who was Kent president, was awarded an OBE in the New Year's Honours List four months ago.

It was during his time as Kent captain that Denness experienced his greatest success, winning the John Player League three times, the Benson and Hedges Cup twice and the Gillette Cup once.

But he will also be remembered for overseeing one of the game's biggest controversies during a spell as ICC match referee.

Denness's decision to sanction six Indian players, including Sachin Tendulkar, during a Test match against South Africa in Port Elizabeth in 2001-02 caused a furore that led to both teams barring him from officiating in the next match.