John Hampshire, former England and Yorkshire batsman, dies aged 76

The former England batsman John Hampshire has died aged 76.

Hampshire was a giant of Yorkshire cricket, having captained the club, played in the great team of the 1960s, winning the County Championship five times and eventually serving as club president since March 2016. The year after his playing career ended in 1984, he became a respected umpire for more than 20 county seasons, as well as standing in 21 Test matches and 20 one-day internationals.

A Yorkshire statement said Hampshire had “passed away peacefully at home and surrounded by his family after a long illness”.

“John epitomised everything that’s good about Yorkshire County Cricket Club,” said the chairman, Steve Denison. “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.”

Hampshire, an elegant middle order batsman, played eight Test matches between 1969 and 1975, the first of which saw him score a century against the West Indies. He also represented England in three one-day internationals. He played 577 first-class matches, scoring more than 28,000 runs, including 43 centuries, with his career ended with Derbyshire and spent his winters playing for Tasmania.

Having made his first-class debut in 1961, Hampshire served as club captain in 1979 and 1980, a turbulent period for the club. He succeeded another former umpire, Dickie Bird, as Yorkshire president, describing the role as “the icing on the cake” of his career.