This is a list of cricketers who were also knighted. The list is divided into two categories: one for those (22 players) who were knighted for their services to cricket, and one for Test cricketers (8 players) who were knighted for other reasons. A separate list shows Test cricketers who hold or have held other notable titles, including

baronetcies A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

and Indian princely titles.

Knighted for services to cricket

This section includes all administrators, coaches, cricketers and umpires who were knighted for their services to the game.

Australia

Sir Donald George Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has ...

AC (1908–2001),

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1949 for services to cricket.

England

# Sir Francis Eden Lacey (1859–1946), the first person to be

(1926) for services to cricket, or indeed any sport; these included his role as the Secretary of the MCC from 1898 to 1926. # Sir Frederick Charles Toone (1868–1930),

in 1929 for services to cricket. # Sir Pelham Francis "Plum" Warner MBE (born in Trinidad; 1873–1963),

in 1937 for services to cricket. # Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs (1882–1963),

in 1953 for services to cricket. # Sir Henry Dudley Gresham "Shrimp" Leveson-Gower (1873–1954),

in 1953 for services to cricket. # Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton (1916–1990),

in 1956 for services to cricket. #

Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (2 April 188828 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became ''The Manchester Gua ...

CBE (1888–1975),

in 1967 for services to music and cricket journalism. Did not play first-class cricket. # Sir George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen CBE (born in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

; 1902–1989),

for services to cricket in 1986. # The Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge CBE (1932–2000),

in 1992 for services to cricket. # Sir Alec Victor Bedser CBE (1918–2010),

in 1996 for services to cricket. # The Lord Botham of Ravensworth

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 24 November 1955),

in 2007 for services to charity and to cricket. # Sir Alastair Nathan Cook CBE (born 25 December 1984),

in 2019 for services to cricket. # Sir Geoffrey Boycott

(born 21 October 1940),

in 2019 for services to sport. # Sir Andrew John Strauss

(born 2 March 1977),

in 2019 for services to sport.

New Zealand

# Sir Richard John Hadlee MBE (born 3 July 1951),

in 1990 for services to cricket.

West Indies

# Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell (born in Barbados; 1924–1967),

for services to cricket in 1964. # Sir Garfield St Aubrun "Garry" Sobers AO OCC (born in Barbados; 28 July 1936),

in 1975 for services to cricket. # Sir Clyde Leopold Walcott KA GCM

(born in Barbados; 1926–2006), created a Knight of St. Andrew of the Order of Barbados in 1993 for services to cricket. # Sir Everton de Courcy Weekes KCMG GCM

(born in Barbados; 1925–2020), in 1995 for services to cricket. # Sir Conrad Cleophas Hunte KA, created a Knight of St. Andrew of the Order of Barbados for services to cricket in 1998. # Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander "Viv" Richards KNH

, created a Knight of the Order of the National Hero in 1999 by the Antiguan government. #Reverend Sir Wesley Winfield Hall (born in Barbados; 12 September 1937),

for services to cricket and the community in 2012. # Sir Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose, knighted by the Antiguan government on 28 February 2014 for services to cricket. # Sir Anderson Montgomery Everton "Andy" Roberts, knighted by the Antiguan government on 28 February 2014 for services to cricket. # Sir Richard Benjamin "Richie" Richardson, knighted by the Antiguan government on 28 February 2014 for services to cricket. # Sir Charles Christopher Griffith, KA, created a Knight of St. Andrew of the Order of Barbados for services to cricket in 2017. # Sir Clive Hubert Lloyd CBE, knighted in the 2020 New Years Honours List for services to cricket. # Sir Cuthbert Gordon Greenidge KCMG MBE, created a Knight Commander of the

Order of St. Michael and St. George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

in the 2020 New Years Honours List for services to cricket and the development of sport.

Knighted for other reasons

This list only includes Test cricketers; there are many others who played cricket at a variety of other levels, from school cricket to first-class cricket.

England

* Sir Francis Stanley Jackson GCSI GCIE KStJ (1870–1947), created Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1927, after becoming

Governor of Bengal The Governor was the chief colonial administrator in the Bengal presidency, originally the "Presidency of Fort William" and later "Bengal province". In 1644, Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to ...

. Made a Knight of Justice of the Venerable Order of Saint John and Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India in 1932 after an assassination attempt. * Sir Charles Aubrey Smith CBE (1863–1948),

in 1944 for services to Anglo-American amity.

India

* The Maharajkumar of Vizianagram (1905–1965),

in 1936 by King Edward VIII. Renounced his knighthood in 1947 after India gained independence.

New Zealand

* Sir Jack Newman (1902–1996), created

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1977 for services to the transport industry.

Zimbabwe

* Sir Murray Bisset (1876–1931),

in 1928 for services to the Commonwealth after serving as Acting Governor of Southern Rhodesia. * Sir William Henry Milton (born in England; 1854–1930),

for his service as

Administrator of Mashonaland The British South Africa Company appointed a variety of officials to govern Southern Rhodesia (called Zimbabwe since 1980) between 1890 and 1923. The most prominent of these were the Administrator and the Chief Magistrate, the first of which was i ...

and later as Administrator of Southern Rhodesia.

West Indies

* The Lord Constantine MBE (born in Trinidad; 1901–1971),

in 1962, primarily for his work as a lawyer, politician and diplomat.

Other titles

* Bill Woodfull was offered a knighthood in 1934 for services to cricket, but turned it down, making

Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

the only Australian cricketer to be knighted.Harte and Whimpress, p. 358. He later received an

for services to education. * George Harris and Martin Hawke both inherited

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsid ...

ages, becoming the 4th Baron Harris and the 7th Baron Hawke respectively. * Learie Constantine and Colin Cowdrey both received

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

ages, becoming Baron Constantine and Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge respectively. * David Sheppard, later Bishop of Liverpool, received a life peerage in 1997 for services to the church, becoming Baron Sheppard of Liverpool. * Tim O'Brien inherited his father's baronetcy, becoming Sir Tim O'Brien, 3rd Baronet, of Merrion Square and Boris-in-Ossory, in the

Baronetage of the United Kingdom Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) James I of E ...

. * Rachael Heyhoe Flint received a life peerage in 2011, becoming Baroness Heyhoe Flint, of Wolverhampton in the County of West Midlands. *

Ian Botham Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser. Hailed as one ...

received a life peerage in 2020, becoming Baron Botham, of Ravensworth in the County of North Yorkshire. *Five other Test cricketers had Indian princely titles: Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji Jadeja, Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar ( England; commonly known as "Ranji"); Iftikhar Ali Khan, the 8th Nawab of Pataudi (England and India; commonly known as the Nawab of Pataudi Snr); his son, Mansoor Ali Khan, the 9th and last Nawab of Pataudi (India; commonly known as the Nawab of Pataudi Jnr); Sir Vijayananda Gajapathi Raju, the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram (India; commonly known as "Vizzy"): and Yadavindra Singh, the Yuvraj of Patiala (India; commonly known as the Yuvraj of Patiala, became Maharaja of Patiala in 1938 after his only Test appearance). *Notably, in 2005, the entire English team that played in the

2005 Ashes series The 2005 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 21 July 2005, England and Australia played five Tests, with the Ashes held by Australia as the most recent victors. The ...

were awarded MBEs for regaining the Ashes, with captain Michael Vaughan and coach Duncan Fletcher (who also played for Zimbabwe) being awarded

Notes

References

* *{{Cite book, last=Harte , first=Chris , author2=Whimpress, Bernard , authorlink2=Bernard Whimpress , title=The Penguin History of Australian Cricket , isbn=0-670-04133-5 , year=2003 , publisher=Penguin Books Australia , location=Camberwell, Victoria
Cricketing Knights

Knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

British honours system

Knighted for services to cricket

Australia

England

New Zealand

West Indies

Knighted for other reasons

England

India

New Zealand

Zimbabwe

West Indies

Other titles

See also

Notes

References