captain ray illingworth has died. he was 89 and had been undergoing treatment for oesophageal cancer. he had a 15—year test career, playing 61 times for england. joe wilson looks back at his career. raymond illingworth. commentator: beautifully hooked by illingworth! - batsman, bowler, leader — a cricketer for all seasons. he began his career in the 1950s. it must be out! he finally stopped playing in the 1980s. just think, when he became england captain in 1969, they wondered then if he was too old. some people would say this is a little bit too old to start being captain of england? yes, well obviously it's not a ten—year policy or anything like that, but i think i am still as good a bowler as i have ever been. you know, i don't think it makes any difference, really. in sydney in 1971, during a fractious ashes test, he led his players off the field when beer cans were thrown from the stands. yes, he is out! that's end of the match! his team—mates carried illingworth off when england won the match and the series. this must surely be the greatest moment of ray illingworth's cricketing life. english cricket appointed a new man today — ray illingworth becomes chairman of selectors. his time as chief administrator of english cricket wasn't as successful. as selector and coach, he didn't secure the results, nor the dressing room harmony he once sought as a captain. i have decided to fine michael on two accounts — first, for using dirt, secondly, for giving incomplete evidence to the match referee. but at his adopted county leicestershire and his native yorkshire, illingworth was a master tactician. the australians regarded his england as the mentally toughest opponents they'd faced. there is no higher compliment for a man who spanned the decades of post—war cricket. the former england cricket captain ray illingworth, who's died at the age of 89. now on bbc news, it's the travel show. presenter and former paralympian steve brown explores japan to find out how accessibility has improved in the wake of this year's paralympics in tokyo. oh, wow. look at the size of this place! this is tokyo stadium and it was home to the football, the rugby and the pentathlon during the olympics. and i'm glad to finally be here. cheering. japan's delayed summer of sport finally got under way in 2021. my name's steve brown and i was supposed to come over the paralympic coverage. not being able to make it out was a huge blow. the whole thing about sport, it's not just about watching it — it's about feeling it, that immersive experience. before i was a presenter, i was captain of the london 2012 rugby wheelchair team. and when i was in hospital sport was what got me out. it was definitely the building blocks to the person that i have become. tokyo holds a special place in paralympic history. it was all the way back at the 1964 games that the term �*paralympic�* was first used. but being disabled injapan hasn't always been easy. it's often seen as a country that values conformity and fitting in. so, at the end of this paralympic year, i'm finally getting the chance to explore japan and find out what life's late for those who stand out from the crowd. —— like for those who stand out from the crowd. discover a hidden tropical culture, and ride the waves with some adaptive surfing. my journey across japan begins in the capital, tokyo, the world's busiest city, where i am on my way to meet some former rivals. it's excellent sitting here and watching the japanese paralympic team doing the training. so wheelchair rugby has this nickname, �*murder ball�* and you can see why — it's the only full—contact wheelchair sport there is. your opponent is going to work very hard to knock you out of your chair, so you have got to work hard to knock them out of theirs. the team won bronze at the 2021 games. and i rememberfacing them all the way back at london 2012. whistle blows. so, very nice to see you again. of course, it was a very different games because of coronavirus — how did that affect you not having the crowds here? how do you feel people's acceptance and understanding of disability is? do you feel like it's something that's maybe has been hidden away a little bit? this gym was specially designed for para—athletes and opened in 2018. in the build—up to the paralympics, the government committed to introducing more barrier—free access across the country. we'll see how i get on as i explore more ofjapan. here in tokyo, the subway system is said to be almost entirely accessible — even if some of the adaptations are a bit bizarre. so this is going to turn into a wheelchair lift, but they've had to shut everything off to make it happen. so i come on...? you won't find many of these adapted escalators around the subway — normal lifts are far more common. brakes are on. yeah, no problem. and that's probably a good thing. 0k. and it's done. thank you, gentlemen. well, that was terrifying. but on the surface, there are old pockets of tokyo that can still be a challenge to get around. we're in golden gai and that translates as golden city, which is quite a strange name for a place no bigger than a football pitch. the place is just starting to open now. if i had left it another hour or so this would be starting to get much busier and on these narrow streets, i think i would have trouble getting around. see, look, this is a perfect example, there's no room for me to get in now, there's a step to get in, and the door�*s too narrow. a few blocks over, there's an area where another group of people are finding their voice. it's called ni—chome and it's said to have the highest concentration of gay and lesbian bars in the world. i've arranged to meet nunu, who works here. and what's the attitude like to the lgbt community injapan? nunu works at the 0nnanoko club, which calls itself a cross—dressing bar. the club welcomes people of all identities. nunu identify as trans and was originally a customer here. this pocket of tokyo flourished because it gave people a space outside of the mainstream where they could express themselves without facing disapproval. but tradition still has a powerful hold overjapan, as i'll find out in the next stage of myjourney. now it's time for me to leave the capital on board one of their famous bullet trains. so what's happening? we are trying to book a a wheelchair space for you. some lines saw the number of wheelchair spaces trebled in the up to the paralympics, but it takes a while to find me a space. it's turning out to be quite a faff, i think, they recommend that you book it all up in advance to save all of this. that doesn't work if you don't know you are travelling until an hour before you need to travel. all sorted. wow! well, here we go then. i'm on my way to 0shima island, 1,000 kilometres west of tokyo and more than five hours by train, to an area that remains in thrall to centuries old traditions and customs. that's a big flight of steps. wa—hey! 0k. whoa. 0h. ah! here we are. 0h! wow. getting up here might have been a bit of an effort, but it was certainly worth it. you don't see many places like this, do you? this is the nakatsumiya shrine. it was built in the 18th century to pay homage to a holy island some 50 kilometres off the coast. 0kinoshima has been worshipped for well over 1000 years, lying between japan and the korean peninsula. this museum tells the story of 0kinoshima all the way back to its earliest religious ceremonies in the fourth ceremony. the island is a sacred place with a very strict door policy. have you seen the island? more than 80,000 artefacts have been found there, which led to unesco naming it a world heritage site in 2017. but the old taboos mean only men can set foot on the island and miki can'tjoin her male colleagues on archaeological expeditions. watching these videos, it certainly has got this kind of eerie mystical power to it. i might not be able to go myself, but one way that tourists can experience 0kinoshima is by trying a misogi ceremony, a special cleansing ritual performed by all the island's visitors. whoa. yeah, it's cold. face you, yeah, towards you? ok, i'm down. it feels, now i'm in, somewhat exhilarating, in a way relaxing. but i still want to get back out now. is that enough praying? i'm heading out to japan's southernmost spot, 0kinawa, which is made up of more than 100 subtropical islands. it's a popular holiday destination because of its year—round warm temperatures and, back in 2007, it was the first place in japan to make a barrierfree declaration — a commitment towards making travel more accessible for all. i have heard 0kinawan culture has distinct differences from the mainland, so i've come here to find out more. back in the 15th century, the ryukyu kingdom united the islands that now form 0kinawa. they were trading people and now an international influence can still be felt in their art and design, their architecture, and in their food. ok, now, this looks very nice. i think i will start with this. what is it? it smells strong. has it got a strong flavour? yes. 0k... wow. that is a strong flavour. i need to wash it down. so what is this? that's nice and it's quite smooth. fragrant. maybe i'm just washing down the fermented tofu... but ryukyuan culture hasn't always been embraced by the mainland. in the 19th century after it became part ofjapan there was a crackdown on local customs. next on my tour, chiyoko takes me 30 kilometres down the road to shuri castle. it's on the top of a steep hill. so i brought along an extra set of wheels. so here we are then. that was a big entrance into an open space. what happened here? i've come through and it's just a construction site. that is the only way i can explain it. that is what i was expecting to see. and it's such a shame. when it was standing, shuri castle drew around 2 million people a year. then, in october 2019, a fire, blamed on a faulty electrical system, tore the wooden palace, destroying all the main buildings. the debris has been cleared away and the site is once again open to tourists, where they can find out about an ambitious new reconstruction that is currently under way. so this is smoke damage? yes. you can feel the weight of them they are a real solid piece. how many will you need to make? it is not the first time the castle has been destroyed and rebuilt. previously it was bombed in the second world war. its reconstruction turned it into a symbol of kanawha's resilience. it's tragic to see all this devastation, but with the reconstruction set to open in a few years' time, maybe it's a chance for the ryukyu culture to get a bit more attention. here in okinawa, my trip across japan is coming to an end. but there's one more thing for me to try. so... this foot, 0k. oh, my goodness! surfing is a year—round activity on these subtropical islands. and taishi is an organiser for accessurf, a local charity that helps people with accessibility needs, like mine, to ride the waves. well, i have never been surfing before. reassure me, many people have you taken out already? i've got the wetsuit on. let's make the most of this, shall we? all right, let's go. well, i've been been in for spiritual, now i'm going in recreational. i'm ready, let's go. this way around ? with me safely on the board, the team run through a few basics. ok, so how do i fall down? i go over and i push the board away from me? yes. so i push away the only thing that i want to grab? well, i think i've got the paddling. shall we try some surfing? yeah. in my journey across japan, i have seen that it's a country that is still bound by tradition. but i have also met people who are pushing those boundaries. and here in okinawa i have seen that there's more than just one traditional culture. for me, coming here in my wheelchair, there have been a few problems here and there. but opening up is a process, whether its opening up to foreign travel after a pandemic or opening up to new ideas and experiences. and this has been one experience that i am definitely going to remember. hello, there, and a very merry christmas to you. we've been seeing a band of rain and hill snow working its way northwards across the country to end christmas day and into the early hours of boxing day. most of that rain and hill snow will become confined to the north of the country, certainly across scotland through the day, and then we'll see something a little bit brighter with some showers following in across the south. so this weather front has continued to journey northwards as it bumped into the cold air which has been sitting across the north and east of the country — that's where we've been seeing the rain turn to snow initially across the hills of north wales, the north midlands, and also northern ireland, but very much so across the pennines and in towards central and southern scotland, some drifting with the strong winds as we head through the course of boxing day morning. into the afternoon, that rain and hill snow become confined to the hills of scotland. something a little bit drier further south — a legacy of cloud, mind you. and there will be some brightness for northern ireland, wales, the south—west. winds light here but still strong and gusty further north, closer to that weather front. and again, it's going to another cold day across northern areas, particularly where we have any lying snow over the hills, versus something much milder across the south and south—west. as we move out of boxing day, that weather front in the north begins to fizzle out, taking the rain and the hill snow with it. elsewhere, a lot of dry weather, lighter winds, clear spells — a recipe for some mist and fog — but further south, into the south—west, we've got a new weather front working its way in. so some milder, wetter, windier weather arriving here. instead, a cold night to come across the north. so here it is, this new area of low pressure is a weather front swiping the south—west and then the south of the country as we move through the day. i think most of the impact will be felt across france, but we'll still have enough wind and rain for it to be noticeable. initially, south wales, south west england, pushing into the midlands and across in towards the south—east through the day. it'll turn mild and windy with it. further north, not a bad day to come, particularly across scotland and northern england. it will be chilly but it'll be bright with plenty of sunshine. those temperatures struggling to get much above six or seven degrees. but again, double—figure values across the south. and the mild air really wins out as we move through the new week in the run—up to new year. it could turn very mild for a time — those winds coming up from the south or south—west — but low pressure will always be nearby and, in fact, it will be quite wet and windy at times. but it could become balmy mild for a while across southern areas, even into the first part of january. see you later. this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm simon pusey. our top stories: save the children condemns the military in myanmar for the deaths of 38 people found in burnt—out vehicles in kayah state. queen elizabeth speaks about her memories of prince philip, in her first christmas day message since his death. that mischievous inquiring twinkle was as bright in the end as when i first set eyes on him. covid infections in france pass 100,000 cases in a 2k hour period, as concerns grow about the 0micron variant. the world's most powerful telescope is launched into space, to offer unprecedented images of the universe. and after three months of spewing lava and ash, the volcanic eruption on la palma finally comes to an end.

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