Crawley calls it a day

John Crawley has scored over 7,000 runs for Hampshire but the batsman plans to retire at the end of the season

Hampshire veteran John Crawley has announced he will retire at the end of the season.

The 37-year-old former England batsman has played 103 first-class matches for his current county Hampshire, scoring 7,198 runs with a top score of 311 not out against Nottinghamshire.

In total, Crawley, who made his debut in 1990 for Lancashire, has racked up over 24,000 first-class runs with 54 centuries.

"I have enjoyed a fantastic career at the top of the game for over 20 years, meeting some amazing people and collecting some incredible experiences along the way," he said.

"However, I have now realised that the time has come to close this particular chapter of my life and have decided to retire at the end of this season.

"I am particularly pleased to have been able to see out my career at such a fantastic club as Hampshire."

Crawley made his Test debut against South Africa in 1994, and claimed his maiden Test hundred against Pakistan two years later.

His final outing at international level came in the fifth Test win over Australia in Sydney in 2003. He departed the international arena having scored 1,800 runs in 37 matches at an average of 34.61.

His highest Test score of 156 not out came against Sri Lanka in 1998, and he also scored 235 runs in 13 one-day outings.

Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove paid tribute to Crawley, who joined the county in 2002.

"This is a very sad day for Hampshire and for English cricket in general," Bransgrove said.

"'Creepy' has reached almost legendary status in the game and his retirement will leave a massive gap here at the Rose Bowl and across the game.

"I would like to thank John for his commitment to Hampshire and wish him and his family all the very best for the future."