Obituary: Eileen Ash, the world's oldest Test cricketer

Eileen Ash rang the five-minute bell at Lord's before England's victory in the Women's World Cup final of 2017

Eileen Ash was the world's oldest Test cricketer, but only came to the wider public's attention when she had already reached the century mark.

Born in London in 1911, she received her first cricket set at the age of five. She appeared in three Tests in 1937 under her maiden name Eileen Whelan, and after the Second World War, featured in four more in 1949.

Though she only once made double figures for England with the bat, her fame largely came after reaching three figures in age.

Civil servant, Test cricketer

A right-arm medium-pace bowler, Whelan was 25 and already working for the Civil Service - professional contracts for female cricketers were more than three-quarters of a century away - when called up by England.

She was selected to play against Australia at Northampton in only the fifth women's Test match ever contested, taking 3-56 on debut alongside early women's cricket legends such as Betty Snowball and Myrtle Maclagan.

"The Civil Service gave you days off if you played for England or your county," she explained. "I thought it was a jolly good way of getting a couple of days off!"

The Second World War not only interrupted her cricket career - "there were very few matches, we were busy saving England" - it meant Ash was seconded to MI6, though she maintained a professionally discreet silence about her war service.

While Ash finished with a modest return of 10 wickets from seven Tests, one of her best days in England colours came on her last Test tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1948-49.

In a tour match against a Victoria Country XI in Balarat in February 1949, she hit an unbeaten century before taking five wickets - all bowled - for 10 runs as England recorded a 170-run win.

Her prized cricketing possessions included a bat signed by Sir Donald Bradman, while the landmark 100th birthday brought her honorary life membership of MCC.

When Eileen met Heather

Eileen Ash made her Test debut in 1937, under her maiden name Eileen Whelan

Having bought a bright yellow Mini at the age of 90, Ash enjoyed an active life in Norwich as a centenarian great-grandmother, having played golf until she was 98.

In 2016, she met modern-day England skipper Heather Knight to compare their experiences as international cricketers - but not before the current captain was put through a punishing yoga session by the veteran.

Knight wrote in her BBC Sport column: "She is easily one of the most extraordinary ladies I've ever met.

"She's 105, does yoga every week and I've met teenagers who have a lot less energy than she does! It was amazing to hear some of her experiences of playing cricket for England, especially the boat trips they used to have to take to play in Australia, and she also took me through her yoga routine.

"My pride, and a number of my muscle groups, are still in tatters after being put to shame by a 105-year-old."

A year earlier, Ash had told the BBC how her secrets for a long life were healthy eating, and two glasses of red wine nearly every day.

The celebrity centenarian

Ash was a special guest at the Women's World Cup final at Lord's in 2017, being asked to ring the five-minute pavilion bell on the day that Knight's England side lifted the trophy.

"She was drinking champagne in the [MCC] president's box, and flirting with John Major. Her energy was incredible," cricket commentator Isabelle Duncan told the Daily Telegraph.

Later that year, Ash appeared on the ITV show 100-Year-Old Driving School celebrating centenarians who are still behind the wheel, and was taken up in a Tiger Moth for a Sky Sports feature to mark her 106th birthday.

Two years later, she was back at Lord's for the unveiling of a portrait of her - joining many other cricket legends so honoured at the home of cricket.

Any other secrets to her longevity?

"I think it's just liking people," she told the BBC shortly after turning 107 when the Hewett Academy in Norwich named a new £2m sports hall after her.

"As long as you can keep breathing, you're OK."

She even tried shooting a few basketball hoops at the opening ceremony, and spoke of an ambition to fly with the Red Arrows - but her record as the longest-lived Test cricketer will take some beating.