John Crawley
One of the most elegant players in county cricket, former England batsman Crawley is particularly effective off his pads from where he can caress the ball to anywhere on the leg side.
A product of Cambridge University, Crawley continued his career with Lancashire in 1990 and was soon called into the England A side. His score of 286 against Eastern Province in 1994 was the highest by an England or England A batsman on foreign soil for nearly 30 years.
That saw him promoted to the senior England team and he made his Test debut against South Africa at Lord’s in 1994 before going on to win 37 Test caps in nine years, which included back-to-back centuries against Pakistan and Zimbabwe in 1996.
In 1998 he topped the English first class batting averages and was named Lancashire’s Player of the Year. The following year he was given the Lancashire captaincy in 1999, a post he held for three years before differences with the management board led to him joining Hampshire in 2002.
He was appointed as Hampshire captain for the 2003 season, in place of the suspended Shane Warne, before the Australian took over the role when he returned in 2004.
Crawley compiled a mammoth 1,246 first-class runs during the 2005 season which saw Hampshire lift the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy and finish runners-up in Frizzell County Championship Division One.
In the final Championship game of the season, Crawley struck 311 not out against Nottinghamshire as Hants defeated the champions by an innings and 188 runs.
He was rewarded in March 2006 when he signed a new three-year contract with Hampshire.
Crawley continued his prolific form with 1,737 first-class runs during the 2006 season at an average of nearly 67.
Though less prolific the following season, he was awarded a benefit year for 2008.
In 2009 he struggled at times to break into the side, managing only 241 runs from 12 innings in the LV= County Championship.
He announced his retirement towards the end of that season to bring the curtain down on a fine career at the same time as many of his former England colleagues including Mark Butcher and Andy Caddick.
