JOHN Hampshire was a county veteran of five Championships who hit a century on Test debut.
Hampshire, who died this week at the age of 76 following a long illness, went on to become an international umpire but he will perhaps be best remembered as an integral member of the great Yorkshire side that dominated the County Championship in the 1960s.
A career that saw spells with Derbyshire, Tasmanie and Leicestershire also saw him rack up a total of 28,059 runs, with the majority of his 43 centuries coming during his 456 appearances for Yorkshire.
Hampshire served as Yorkshire club captain in 1979 and 1980, a turbulent period for the club before succeeding another another former umpire, Dickie Bird, as Yorkshire president, describing the role as “the icing on the cake” of his career.
Hampshire made eight Test appearances for England, scoring a ton against the West Indies on debut in 1969. He also made three ODI appearances.
MCC president Matthew Fleming said: “John Hampshire was one of the very great men; a talented cricketer and a respected official who continued to give back to the game long after his playing days had ended.”
