Josh Baker (cricketer)

Josh Oliver Baker (16 May 2003 – 2 May 2024) was an English cricketer.^[1][2] Born in Redditch, Worcestershire,^[1] he was a student at Malvern College from 2016 to 2021.^[3] He made his first-class debut on 11 July 2021, for Worcestershire in the 2021 County Championship,^[4] after signing a rookie contract with the club the previous day.^[5] He made his List A debut on 25 July 2021, for Worcestershire in the 2021 Royal London One-Day Cup.^[6]

Josh Baker

Baker in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Josh Oliver Baker
Born	(2003-05-16)16 May 2003 Redditch, Worcestershire, England
Died	2 May 2024(2024-05-02) (aged 20)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Slow left-arm orthodox
Role	Bowler
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2021–2024	Worcestershire (squad no. 33)
First-class debut	11 July 2021 Worcestershire v Warwickshire
List A debut	25 July 2021 Worcestershire v Kent
Career statistics
Competition FC LA T20 Matches 22 17 8 Runs scored 411 100 14 Batting average 16.44 14.28 3.50 100s/50s 0/2 0/0 0/0 Top score 75 25 5 Balls bowled 3,728 789 132 Wickets 43 24 3 Bowling average 49.53 31.25 68.66 5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 Best bowling 4/51 3/29 2/26 Catches/stumpings 20/– 4/– 4/–
Source: ESPNCricinfo

In December 2021, he was named as one of two reserve players in England's team for the 2022 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.^[7] He made his Twenty20 debut on 25 May 2022, for the Worcestershire Rapids in the 2022 T20 Blast.^[8] In August 2022, Baker sustained a lower back injury that caused him to miss the rest of the season.^[9]  On 21 March 2023, he signed three-year deal at Worcestershire County Cricket Club.^[10]

Baker died on 2 May 2024, at the age of 20, after collapsing due to an undiagnosed heart defect.^[11][12][13] On 9 May 2024, Worcestershire announced that all players would wear the 33 jerseys for the rest of the domestic season as a tribute to him.^[14] Worcestershire retired the number 33 shirt in Baker's memory in September 2024.^[15]