Death of Yorkshire cricket legend John Hampshire, 76

For 20 years, John Hampshire thrilled Yorkshire's crowds with his attacking strokeplay and in 1969 scored a century on his Test debut against the West Indies at Lord's.

FORMER Yorkshire cricket captain John Hampshire has died at 76, the club announced today.

Hampshire, the club’s current president, was a Yorkshire and England batsman and a successful Test umpire.

He died at home, surrounded by his family, after a long illness.

The club’s chairman, Steve Denison, said: “John epitomised everything that’s good about Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Brave, talented and with a heart of gold he captained Yorkshire, scored a century at Lord’s on his Test debut and became a highly respected umpire after hanging up his playing whites.

“Loved by players and Members alike, John capped his wonderful life in Yorkshire cricket as our club President last year.”

As a member of the great Yorkshire side of the 1960s and a five-time Championship winner, Hampshire played eight Test matches and three one-day internationals, famously scoring a century on his Test debut against the West Indies at Lord’s in 1969.

Having made his debut for Yorkshire in 1961, he scored more than 28,000 first-class runs at an average of 34.55, including 45 hundreds.

A year after ending his playing career, he became an umpire, standing in his first Test match in 1989 – an Ashes Test at Old Trafford. He eventually retired from the County circuit in 2005.

Yorkshire's Andrew Hodd is presented with his county cap last May by club president John Hampshire. Picture: SWPix

He became president of the Headingley club last March.

Speaking in September last year about the role, ahead of the final day’s play of the Specsavers County Championship season, Hampshire said: “From a personal point of view, things have gone marvellously and I’ve been a bit taken aback by the reception my wife and I have had, both at Yorkshire and around the grounds that we’ve visited.

“I’ve found it very heart-warming, and we’ve had a tremendous reception from (chief executive) Mark Arthur and the (Yorkshire) board. I was quite surprised when (former chairman) Colin Graves telephoned me a couple of years ago to tell me I was the prospective president.

“It is very much the icing on the cake of a Yorkshire career - from a very humble beginning, getting trains, trams and busses to Headingley to practice in the winter in hope of getting a game for Yorkshire Seconds, to being president. I think it’s quite an achievement.”