Winston Place, the former Lancashire opener, has died after a short illness. He was 87. Place, a right-hander who drove and pulled well, made his Lancashire debut in 1937. However, like so many, he lost some productive years to the war. But he bounced back in 1946, and was unlucky to miss out on a spot in Walter Hammond's somewhat geriatric team in Australia. Place lost out to Cyril Washbrook, his county colleague and opening partner, who formed a legendary alliance atop England's batting order with Len Hutton.

But after Place peeled off 2501 runs at 62 in 1947, a berth was found for him on the banana-boat to West Indies with Gubby Allen's MCC side. Washbrook missed the tour, and Hutton came out later. So Place got a place, and although he missed one Test through injury he played in the other three, and made a workmanlike 107 in the last, at Kingston. But West Indies won that match and the series, and when Don Bradman's Invincibles sailed in England reverted to Hutton and Washbrook.

And that was Place's lot at Test level - 144 runs at 28.80. He was 34, and returned to county cricket. He played on till 1955, when he became an umpire, and finished with 15,609 runs at 35.63, with 36 centuries.

Place, one of the few England players who sound like an address - there's also George Street and Brian Close - was nicknamed "George", for the simple reason that there had always been a George in the Lancashire dressing-room and suddenly they found themselves without one. As Place's own career drew to a close, he passed on the George moniker to Brian Statham, who carried it proudly to his own retirement in 1969.

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