John Hampshire passes away aged 76

John Hampshire passes away aged 76 John Hampshire, the former England and Yorkshire batsman who later became an international umpire, passed away on Wednesday (March 1) aged 76 after prolonged illness. Hampshire played just eight Tests for England and started his career with a hundred on debut against West Indies in 1969 at the Lord's. He also featured(खेला)  in three One-Day Internationals with his highest score being an unbeaten 25 against Australia in Manchester. An integral member of the Yorkshire team, Hampshire also appeared for Derbyshire, Tasmania, Hampshire and Leicestershire. He accumulated(जमा हुआ) a total of 28,059 first-class runs at an average of 34.55 with 43 centuries to his name in addition to 30 wickets in 577 matches.

He made his debut as an umpire in the Ashes Test in 1989. He was later invited by Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain, to officiate in the Pakistan-India series in the same year. Hampshire officiated in a total of 53 international games with 12 of them as television umpire. When Zimbabwe gained Test status and played their first Test match against India in October 1992, Hampshire became the first professional coach of the African nation.

Hampshire, who took over the role of president of Yorkshire in March last year, was delighted with his new role and had termed his appointment a remarkable achievement. "It is very much the icing on the cake of a Yorkshire career - from a very humble beginning, getting trains, trams and buses 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," he said.

Steve Denison, chairman of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, paid tributes to Hampshire. "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. On behalf of everyone involved with and connected to the Club, I would like to extend our most sincere condolences to John's wife Alison and two sons Ian and Paul. He will be sorely missed by all at Headingley," he said.