Bristol cricketer turned youth coach ‘gobsmacked’ to appear in Queen’s New Year Honours List 2022

A former professional cricketer who has spent 34 years passing on the game to Bristol youngsters after turning coach has been recognised with a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Year Hounours List 2021.

Ian Cunningham Crawford, president of the Bristol Youth Cricket League and Stapleton Cricket Club’s youth-co-ordinator, was praised for his service to sport and the community with the prestigious award.

Also known as ‘Crawf’, the 67-year-old is well known throughout the Bristol cricket sphere for his ‘amazingly patient and caring’ approach.

He was a batsman for Gloucestershire between 1975 and 1978 and became youth co-ordinator of Stapleton Cricket Club in 1987.

Recently, he worked with Afghan children from the refugee community and was the driving force getting the club back up and running after the peak of the pandemic.

Ian told BristolWorld: “I was completely shocked to hear the news, it came entirely out of the blue.

“But it’s been said that the awards are more to do with the people you work with, and that’s certainly the case with me.

“At the club, we have so many great coaches as well as the chairman, committee and people who help run the sessions.

“It’s all about passing the game on. I feel lucky I found cricket and it’s been a lot of fun to be able to pass it on to the next lot of kids.

“If you speak to any sort of teacher or coach, they will tell you the same.

“As I’m connected to the Bristol Youth League, I get to see lots of other clubs, and all around Bristol you’ll find people like me doing the same thing.

“I’m biased of course, but sport is one of the very best things for young people. It teaches new skills along with teamwork and trust.”

Ian said that when he first received the ‘very official looking’ letter through the post, he thought he was in trouble.

He added: “It said ‘cabinet office’ on it and I thought, what have I done now?

“But it turns out I wasn’t being chased for tax. This is a such a great honour and I’m gobsmacked.

“Over the years, it’s all just been good fun.”

More than 10 other people from the Bristol region were included in the New Year Honours list. Click here to see who they were and what they were commended for.