The highest awards of each country go to the people who contribute intelligently in the fields concerned. UK, in particular, honors with a knighthood for excellent service to the nation.
Cricket has been the UK’s summer sport nationally. Hence, it is only natural that a lot of the famous English cricketers have been granted the and the UK’s top honour – knighthood.
England Cricketers Who Have Been Bestowed with knighthood
1. Francis Lacey – 1926
Francis Lacey was the very first cricketer in England to be awarded the knighthood. He was a very graceful batsman and ball could be thrown in the field.
But it was on the off-field where he had the biggest effect. Lacey was the MCC’s secretary for a period of 28 years, until 1926.
2. Frederick Toone – 1929
Frederick Toone is a rather odd and unique member of this list. He was never a professional cricket player.
But his superb administrative abilities secured him the knighthood in 1929. He was awarded the honour for the close relationship he built between the UK and the Commonwealth territories.
Toone was the team manager of the MCC on three Australian tours in 1920-21, 1924-25, and 1928-29. He held the post of secretary at both the Leicestershire County Cricket Club and the Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
3. Pelham Warner – 1937
Pelham Warner provided cricket with every possible support. He had to begin from the battier age and then climb to the manager, selector and writer canopy.
During a career of 521-match first-class, ‘Plum’ scored a total of 29028 runs for England, Middlesex, and Oxford University. England collected 622 of those runs in 15 Tests.
After retiring, ‘Plum’ was the team manager during the 1932-33 tour to Australia, notorious for the bodyline tactics. Then he continued as a selector for a few years.
Plum’ was very active in writing about cricket and even started The Cricketer, which is still around today. Subsequently, he was elected president of the MCC.
4. Jack Hobbs – 1953
Jack Hobbs has a unique record which possibly no one will ever be able to surpass. He remains the number 1 with 61760 runs, 199 of them being fiction, in the first-class cricket format played for Surrey and England.
Hobbs played 61 Tests for England during which he got 5410 runs at a terrific 56.94 average. He was so good and consistent that he became the first professional cricketer to be knighted in 1953.
5. Henry Leveson Gower – 1953
Henry Leveson Gower was knighted at the same time as Jack Hobbs in 1953. Though Gower had only a brief period of representation in England, he amassed more than 7500 first-class runs for Surrey and Oxford University.
However, it was the administrative service that gave him the highest honour. Gower was on the Committee of the MCC, and he worked as treasurer and president of the Surrey County Club. Besides, he was the selection committee’s chairman.
6. Leonard Hutton – 1956
If Hobbs completely ruled over the first 30 years, then Leonard Hutton created a storm in the succeeding 30 years. So, it is no surprise that he is considered one of the greatest cricketers ever to play for England.
Hutton was a technically sound batsman, and he might have been the best in his time. The right-handed batsman scored 40140 runs in 513 first-class matches for England and Yorkshire. He also took 173 wickets using his slow leg breaks.
For the country alone, Hutton amassed 6971 runs in 79 matches. He even captained England from 1952 to 1955 when he retired.
7. Neville Cardus – 1967
Even though writing was his profession, Neville Cardus was awarded the knighthood for his work and contributions to cricket and music.
It is worth noting that cricket writing was not even his first choice for a profession. However, Cardus was so excellent in his craft that he has been able to pass down the baton to the cricket writers of the future through his influence.
8. Gubby Allen – 1986
During the majority of his life, Gubby Allen managed to do both, being a cricketer and a stockbroker at the same time. He was not a professional but rather an all-rounder who by no means, could bowl fast and score some runs in the lower order.
In the course of his 265 first-class matches career, Allen managed to claim 788 wickets and to make 9233 runs, of which 81 wickets and 750 runs belonged to England. His other stats were contributed from Middlesex and Cambridge University.
However, Allen was a great personality and his influence was felt far beyond the boundary. In fact, he held the position of the chairman of the selectors between 1955 and 1961.
He also presided over the MCC’s Cricket Committee and made a significant contribution to the enforcement of the ban on illegal bowling. Allen was further appointed president and treasurer of the MCC.
9. Colin Cowdrey – 1992
Colin Cowdrey was a massive and steady English batsman during that time. Over the span of a career exceeding two decades, he racked up 42719 runs in the first-class, with 7624 runs coming in Tests representing England.
At the domestic level, Cowdrey played for MCC, Kent, and Oxford University. After retiring, he was appointed as the president of the MCC and chairman of the ICC.
10. Alec Bedser – 1996
Alec Bedser is among the best English fast bowlers ever born after the Second World War. The batter’s plight was his medium pace, which he skillfully mixed with inswingers and leg cutters.
Bedser took 236 wickets and scored 714 runs in 51 Tests. Being not a perfect batsman, he still scored 5735 runs across 485 first-class matches for Surrey and England, along with 1924 wickets.
Then, Bedser was appointed as a selector by the England before he went on to head the selection committee. He also worked as a manager for the team during a couple of tours.
In 1996, Bedser was awarded a knighthood for his extraordinary service to cricket, thus, being the first English bowler ever to receive this recognition.
11. Ian Botham – 2007
Ian Botham was an outstanding player in both cricket and football. As a result, he was forced to select one of the two sports. Eventually, he made cricket the winner and turned out to be the best all-rounder ever in cricket history.
Very skillful in Botham’s abilities of combining the two functions of batting and bowling. And in many games, he was the one bringing victory to England through his all-round talents.
Over the duration of his 102 Test matches, Botham’s run total was 5200 and his wicket total was 383. A total of 19399 runs scored and 1172 wickets taken were the achievements during his first-class career.
He also enjoyed decent ODI numbers, scoring 2113 runs and taking 145 wickets in 116 games. Even more striking, though, are the List A numbers of 10474 runs and 612 victims in 470 matches.
12. Alastair Cook – 2019
Alastair Cook, who retired in 2018, had already amassed the most runs, centuries, and catches for England in Tests. This bears out the extent of his control as both batter and fielder.
Besides that Cook made a good captain. His leadership saw England conquer India in India after winning the Ashes in 2013 and 2015.
It was his batting, however, which made him a rock at the top. He produced 12472 runs in 161 Tests, 3204 in 92 ODIs, and 61 in four T20Is.
13. Geoffrey Boycott – 2019
Geoffrey Boycott mainly opened when he scored runs for England and Yorkshire. His rock-solid starts sometimes kept the teams from losing.
Boycott’s run-making was so indispensable that England’s losses were only 20 in his 108 Tests. The defeats were due to his not making large scores.
He was also an aggressive player, which made it possible for him to score 8114 runs in 108-Test career. In first-class cricket, Boycott’s total was 48426 runs in 609 matches, while in List A, he scored 10095 runs in 313 games.
After his retirement from the sport, Boycott became a commentator and was known for his controversial and harsh criticism in particular.
14. Andrew Strauss – 2019
Andrew Strauss was a great opener of the England team. Though he did not get a lot of support, he took the chance when it came and did not let it go.
At Lord’s, Strauss made his Test debut and immediately smashed the first century of his career in 2004. Four years later, he became the captain of the English team and held that position until he retired in 2012.
In 100 Tests for England, Strauss scored 7037 runs and in addition, he made 4205 runs in 127 ODIs. His first-class career was fantastic, with 17046 runs, most of which he made for Middlesex.
15. James Anderson – 2025
James Anderson is the most recent England cricketer conferred with a knighthood. And this happened just a year after his Test retirement.
Anderson was the last and the best fast bowler who had ever played for England, particularly in Tests. His 704 wickets in 188 Tests and 269 wickets in 194 ODIs speak of the efforts he put in to his skillful and economical bowling.
Anderson was a swing bowling genius and for nearly 22 years enjoyed tremendous success in the home conditions that were very conducive to his style. His ambition to play for England for many years brought him numerous awards.
