John Crawley

John Paul Crawley (born 21 September 1971) is a retired English professional cricketer, who played international cricket 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. Though 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 only played in 37 Test matches in total.

Crawley nevertheless remained prolific a 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 near contemporaries Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash as a hugely talented player, though one who failed to realise his full potential at international level.

Crawley played cricket whilst 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 CCC. 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.