Former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss has confirmed his wife has died from lung cancer.
Strauss stood down from the day to day role as director of the England and Wales Cricket Board earlier this year when his wife Ruth became ill.
She was 46 years old.
The couple have two sons aged 13 and 10.
In a statement, Strauss said: "It is with great sadness and immense grief that we have to announce that Ruth passed away today as a result of her rare lung cancer.
"Sam, Luca and I will miss her terribly.
"Anyone who has met Ruth will know how loving, caring and passionately protective she was of her family and it gives us huge comfort that she was in Australia, the land of her birth, surrounded by those who love her, in her final moments.
"We would like to send our heartfelt thanks to those that have helped with her treatment over the last 12 months, in particular the wonderful team at University College Hospital in London.
"Ruth desperately wanted to help those affected by this terrible disease and we will be launching a foundation in due course to raise much-needed funds to aid research and also to offer support to patients and their families."
Mrs Strauss had been diagnosed with cancer last December.
In a statement in May, Strauss said: "She was doing very well up until now.
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"She is starting a new treatment pretty soon which is going to be more demanding for her and I need to spend a bit of time focusing on supporting her."
He said at the time he looked forward to taking up the reins again, but needed to focus on supporting his family.
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