FRIENDS and former team-mates of cricketer Andrew Hawkey packed the Exeter & Devon Crematorium to overflowing for his funeral.
All 135 seat in the main chapel at the crematorium were taken and an estimated 300 mourners followed the service outside on giant TV screens.
Hawkey, who was 56, died peacefully in his sleep in late July. He was an all-round sportsman, playing local football for Pinhoe and enjoying a round of golf, but for two decades cricket was his passion.
His cricket career started with Whipton & Pinhoe before a move to Exeter St James in the Devon League to play A and B Division cricket.
Throughout the 1990s and the first half of the 2000s, Hawkey hardly missed a Saturday or Sunday afternoon game. A left-handed batsman, he played predominately in the 1stXI, although such was St James’ strength at times he dropped into the 2ndXI, where he was a prolific run getter.
Hawkey’s two best seasons in St James’ 1stXI were 1995, when he made 515 league runs, and 2004, when he topped 400.
Exeter St James ran into player problems in the mid-2000s and a month the 2007 season they pulled out of the Devon League B Division as they did not have enough players to field two sides – and league rules did not permit them to carry on with at the level they were at.
When Topsham St James emerged from the wreckage in 2008 they had to restart at the bottom of the league ladder. Hawkey was one of a number of players who left for Alphington, never to return.
Hawkey was coming to the end of his cricket career by then and it wasn’t long before the lure of the golf course claimed him.
Stuart Shaw, who skippered Hawkey when he played for St James and was one of the players who switched to Alphington, said the turnout at the funeral showed how popular his friend had been.
“Andy was the life and soul of the club and great fun to be around,” said Shaw, who is still playing for Alphington.
“His work as a plasterer took him up and down the country and he really looked forward to cricket at the weekend.
“Socially, I spent a lot of time with Andy. He was ever affable and always had a smile on his face.
“There was a fantastic turnout for Andy’s funeral, which was a measure of the man and his popularity. His death at 56 is a sad loss to his three children, grandchild and his many friends.”
Andrew Hawkey was Exeter born and bred and attended Hele’s School before entering the building trade.
He had been married and separated. His children – two sons and a daughter – survive him.
Friends of Andrew Hawkey are hoping to arrange a memorial T20 match in his honour before the end of the season.
