Crawley to pick up Hants life honour

John Crawley helped Hampshire win the 2005 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy

John Crawley will receive an honorary Hampshire life membership at the Royals’ final Friends Provident t20 group match against Sussex Sharks on Sunday.

Crawley, who played for Hampshire from 2002 to 2009, will pick the award from chairman Rod Bransgrove in an on-pitch presentation shortly before the start of play.

Hampshire honorary life memberships have previously been awarded to County Championship-winning captain Richard Gilliat, England legend David Gower and Hampshire’s current cricket secretary Tim Tremlett.

A top-order batsman who played 37 Tests for England, Crawley joined Hampshire from Lancashire in 2002, scoring 272 on debut – the highest debut score by any Hampshire player.

His innings of 311 not out is Hampshire’s highest since the Second World War and he is the only man to have made two triple hundreds in a Hampshire shirt.

Crawley was club captain during the 2003 season and opened the batting for the team that won the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy in 2005.

Last season he retired from all forms of cricket, stating he did not want to stand in the way of emerging talent at the club.

Crawley said: “It is a pleasure and a huge honour to be given this life membership award.

“In my eight seasons at Hampshire I developed an extraordinary affection for the club, its supporters, the staff and many of the players past and present.

“To be asked to be a part of the club’s future and to join such esteemed ranks makes me very proud indeed.

“The Rose Bowl and Hampshire Cricket are a venue and a club with such a bright future, and I hope to continue to be there to see it.”

Bransgrove added: “‘Creepy’ has received his award for his outstanding contribution as a player and captain of the club and for his professional and dignified demeanour throughout his career at Hampshire.

“We are delighted to present him with the honorary life membership before Sunday’s match against the Sussex Sharks and look forward to his continued presence around the club over the coming years.”