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Nicknamed as Jack, John Hampshire was an professional English cricketer and umpire, who played three One Day Internationals and eight Tests for England between 1969 and 1975.
Born on 10th February 1941 in Thurnscoe, Hampshire came from a cricketing family.
A good middle-order batsman, who was capable of building as well as rebuilding an innings, John Hampshire was one of the giants of county cricket, amassing over 20000 runs. He also plied his trade for Tasmania.
Early Career
Hampshire made his debut for his native Yorkshire at the age of 20 and played first-class cricket for Yorkshire from 1961 to 1981, where he had a twenty-year career with the club and for Derbyshire from 1982 to 1984. Hampshire captained the club, Tasmania, for two seasons from 1979 to 1980.
Between 1969 and 1975 he played 8 Tests for England,and managed to score 403 runs which includes a dashing 107 at Lord’s against strong West Indies bowling attack on his test debut and became the first Englishman to score a Test hundred on debut at Lord's.
Hampshire appeared perfect for a glittering Test career but strangely, he figured in only 8 Tests for England, scoring 403 runs before being dropped.
John Hampshire was a powerful stroke player in the middle order, and managed to score 28,059 runs in 577 first-class matches at an average of 34.55, which included 43 centuries, with a highest score of 183 not out. He added another 7,314 runs in 280 first class matches with a best of 119 at 31.12. He was a brave close fielder who took 446 catches in his first-class career. He was also used sometimes as a potential useful leg spinner.
Umpiring Career
Hampshire became a county umpire in 1985, after retiring from the playing arena. He was then appointed to the Test list in 1989 and stood in his first Test match as an umpire at Old Trafford during the 1989 Ashes. Later, he was added to the ICC panel of umpires in 1999.
In 2002, Hampshire officiated the final of the last Benson and Hedges Cup competition with Barry Dudleston, thirty years after having played against Dudleston in the first final of that competition held in 1972.
Stats
John officiated 21 Tests and 20 One Day Internationals starting from 1989 until 2002. He also stood as an umpire in 349 First class matches in a long course of 20 years.
Hampshire was an official in 365 List A matches until 2014. He also stood in 8 T20 Internationals from 2004 to 2005.
Retirement
Hampshire remained a highly respected umpire on the first-class circuit until his retirement in 2005. However, he continued as an umpire in List A matches until 2014.
