English cricketer (born 1971)
John Paul Crawley
(born 21 September 1971) is a former English
first-class cricketer
who played at international level for
England
and
county cricket
for
Hampshire
and
Lancashire
. Crawley, one of three brothers who all played first-class cricket, was a right-handed
batsman
and occasional
wicket-keeper
.
Nicknamed "Creepy", he promised much in his early career; he was a leading run-scorer at Under-19 international level and Young Cricketer of the Year in 1994. An elegant leg-side hitter and player of
spin bowling
, a lack of off-side shots hampered his international career, as did injury. He enjoyed a rejuvenation in 2002 when he joined Hampshire, following legal battles with Lancashire, and celebrated his recall to the England team with a Test century at
Lord's
. Crawley played in 37
Test matches
in total.
Crawley nevertheless remained prolific at domestic level, maintaining a batting average of 46.49 into his late-thirties. Upon announcing his retirement in 2009 he was hailed as "one of the most prolific batsmen in county cricket for nearly two decades" and is regarded alongside his contemporaries
Graeme Hick
and
Mark Ramprakash
as a hugely talented player, though one who failed to realise his full potential at international level.
[1]
Early career
[
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]
Crawley played cricket while at
Manchester Grammar School
where he broke a number of batting records previously held by
Mike Atherton
. After finishing school, he continued his education at
Trinity College, Cambridge
.
Crawley played as a paid amateur for
Farnworth
CC in the
Bolton League
before moving on to bigger things with Lancashire County Cricket Club. He made his
first-class
debut for
Lancashire
in the
1990 season
. During his time as a university student, he played first-class cricket for both Lancashire and
Cambridge University
. After graduation he turned professional and stayed on at Lancashire, becoming team captain in 1999?2001.
Crawley began to produce a number of impressive innings. In
1993
, he scored 109 for Lancashire as they defeated a strong
Australian cricket team
in a tour match. The tourists' team had included
Shane Warne
and
Merv Hughes
, and Crawley's performance moved the Australian coach
Bob Simpson
to label him the best batsman they had played against that summer. This was during the
1993 Ashes series
in which Australia comfortably defeated England. In 1994, he was named
Young Cricketer of the Year
by the
Cricket Writers' Association
.
International career
[
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]
Crawley was selected for the
England A
team to tour
South Africa
that winter. In one tour match, he scored 286 against
Eastern Province
.
[
citation needed
]
He followed this up with 281 not out against
Somerset
the following season.
Having impressed the selectors, he was chosen to play for
England
during the 1994 Test series against
South Africa
. However, he struggled against the South African
pace bowling
attack who exposed a weakness on his
off side
.
Despite his poor start to international cricket, Crawley was selected in the touring squad for the
1994?95 Ashes series
in Australia. He produced his first substantial innings for England scoring two 70s in the 3rd and 4th Tests of the series, but got a
pair
in the 5th. During the tour, he was criticised for being overweight ? an issue he resolved for the following season.
Crawley was in-and-out of the England team over the next few years. In 1996 he scored 106 against
Pakistan
, his first Test century, and in 1998 he scored 156 not out against
Sri Lanka
, his highest Test score. However, a poor performance during the
1998?99 Ashes series
led to him being dropped from the side, apparently for good.
Move to Hampshire
[
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]
In
2002
, Crawley moved from Lancashire to
Hampshire
, scoring 272 on his debut, and with an average of over 100 after the first three games he was recalled for Sri Lanka's tour in England. Over the next year he was used as first reserve, and in January 2003 played his last Test match ? England's fifth Test victory over Australia at
Sydney
.
In the absence of the suspended
Shane Warne
, Crawley captained Hampshire during the
2003 season
. He continued to score heavily in county cricket for Hampshire. His highest first-class score is 311 not out, scored in September 2005 against
Nottinghamshire
, beating his previous best of 301
not out
which he reached in
2004
also against Nottinghamshire. Crawley was awarded a benefit year for the
2008 County Championship
.
Crawley announced on 8 August 2009 that at the end of the
2009 County Championship
he would be retiring from all forms of first-class cricket, stating he did not want to stand in the way of emerging talent at Hampshire.
Teaching career
[
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]
Crawley became a full-time member of staff at
Marlborough College
, the major public school in Wiltshire.
[2]
In February 2012 he became Head of Cricket at
Magdalen College School
in
Oxford
.
[3]
In 2013 he moved to
Oakham School
to teach History and become Director of Cricket.
[4]
In 2015, he joined the academic staff at
Oundle School
in
Northamptonshire
, teaching History and acting as Master in Charge of cricket.
References
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]
External links
[
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]
Sporting positions
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Preceded by
|
Hampshire
cricket captains
2003
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Succeeded by
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Men's Young Player of the Year
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Women's Player of the Year
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Women's Young Player of the Year
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