Creepy Receives Honorary Life Membership

Former Hampshire player, John Crawley received an Honorary Life Membership of the club at the Hampshire Royals' final t20 group match against the Sussex Sharks on Sunday.

Former Hampshire player, John Crawley received an Honorary Life Membership of the club at the Hampshire Royals’ final t20 group match against the Sussex Sharks on Sunday.

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

The Honorary Life Membership is a discretionary award given to individuals who have made an extraordinary contribution to the club. Such memberships have previously been awarded to Hampshire’s Championship winning captain, Richard Gilliat, England and Hampshire legend David Gower and Hampshire’s current cricket secretary, Tim Tremlett, amongst others.

Before receiving the membership, John told The Rose Bowl website; “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.”

Crawley was a superb top order batsman, occasional spin bowler and, even, stand-in wicket-keeper who played 37 Test matches for England. He moved to The Rose Bowl from Lancashire in 2002, scoring 272 on debut – the highest debut score by any Hampshire player.

John Crawley - the only man to have ever made two triple hundreds for Hampshire

His innings of 311 not out is the highest score made by a Hampshire player since the war and he is the only man to have ever made two triple hundreds in a Hampshire shirt. He was Club captain during the 2003 season and opened the batting for the team that won the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy in 2005.

He continued to perform at the highest level for Hampshire up until last season when he retired from all forms of cricket stating he didn’t want to stand in the way of emerging talent at the club.

Hampshire Chairman, Rod Bransgrove said; “’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.”
 

Back to news