London: Former Yorkshire and England batsman Phil Sharpe, one of the outstanding slip fielders of his generation, has died aged 77 after a short illness, the county announced Tuesday.

Despite averaging an impressive 46.23, Sharpe played just 12 Tests during the 1960s when it was his misfortune to be vying for an England place alongside the likes of Tom Graveney, Colin Cowdrey, Ken Barrington and Ted Dexter, although his lone Test hundred only came in his final year of international cricket, in 1969 against New Zealand.