Close continued to turn out to help train Yorkshire youngsters, appearing for Yorkshire Colts XI in his seventies, sometimes captaining games and taking the short leg position without a helmet, a position he had taken so many times in the past. According to Imran Khan, Close once stood his ground when fielding at short leg when a batsman played a pull shot, the ball hit him on the forehead, rebounded and was caught at cover. Khan commented: "We are not all bullet-headed Yorkshiremen, however, and I don't recommend copying Close." Close died of lung cancer on 13 September 2015, aged 84.