ENGLAND CRICKET LEGEND'S WIFE DIES AFTER LONG GETTING WITH CANCER

The tragic news was confirmed on Monday

Stewart's wife Lynn has died at the age of 62 (Image: FIONA HANSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Lynn's death was confirmed by the club on Monday morning with chairman Oli Slipper saying: “The sincere condolences of everyone at Surrey County Cricket Club are with Alec and the whole Stewart family.

"Our very best wishes are with the family and we will continue to offer any support to them that we are able to. In the meantime, we ask that people respect their privacy at this difficult time.”

The club also confirmed that flags would be flown at half-mast for the final day of their County Championship game against Hampshire as a mark of respect.

Stewart is the fifth most-capped English cricketer ever in Test matches, having played in 133 between 1990 and 2003, and was made captain in 1998.

As a player, he won six trophies in 23 years with Surrey, including three Championship titles, while he oversaw three County Championship title wins in his role as director of cricket with the club.

However, at the end of last year he stepped down from that position and took on a part-time role as high-performance cricket advisor, in order for him to spend more time with Lynn.

Describing it as the "toughest decision of my working career," Stewart announced in a statement: "Since 2013, I have given this job my total commitment and it has been an honour and a privilege to be a part of the greatest cricket club in the world. However, the job is not one that you can just leave at the ground, as it demands 24-7 attention.

"As people may know, my wife has been battling cancer since 2013 and I want to give her, and my family, more of my time over the coming years than this job allows."

Shortly after stepping down from his role, he opened up on his wife's illness in an interview with the Telegraph, explaining: "There are bits and pieces that have crept up recently. It's never going away. It's managing it.

"That is, there are some goodish times, and then the last four weeks have been tough for her. And then it's just putting faith in the oncologist we've had from day one, who's been brilliant.

"But yes, now I've got housework duties, cooking duties and other duties on the agenda, which I do to the best of my ability, which isn't great, but you've got to try, haven't you?

'It is two weeks on and two weeks off with chemo and the oncologist has said we will attack it with vigour," he added. "And hopefully make life more pleasant. So it's just managing it really, dealing with it, which is what we've always done. She's the brave one."

The couple were married for over 30 years and had two children, Andrew and Emily, together.

- John Jones