John Francis

John Daniel Francis (born 13 November 1980) is an English former first-class cricketer who played county cricket at first-class level for Hampshire and Somerset as a batsman in a career spanning from 2001 to 2008.

Cricket career Beginnings at Hampshire Francis was born at Bromley in Kent in November 1980. He grew up in Southampton, where he was educated at King Edward VI School. From there, he attended Durham University, followed by Loughborough University. Francis made his debut in first-class cricket for Hampshire against Middlesex at Southampton in the 2001 County Championship, with him making a second appearance that against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. In that same season, he also made his debut in List A one-day cricket, making six appearances in the 2001 Norwich Union League, in which he scored 189 runs at an average of exactly 63. The following season, he was selected to play for the British Universities cricket team in a first-class match against the touring Sri Lankans, in addition to making eight appearances in the 2002 County Championship for Hampshire, Alongside James Adams and Chris Benham, he was one of three Loughborough University cricketers in Hampshire's 2002 squad.

Loughborough University's representative team, Loughborough UCCE, were awarded first-class status for the 2003 season, with Francis playing in their inaugural first-class fixture against Somerset. In seventeen first-class matches for Hampshire, he scored 700 runs at an average of 24.13, making five half centuries. In 27 one-day appearances, he scored 818 runs at an average of 40.90, making six half centuries alongside his lone century.

Move to Somerset In November 2003, Francis signed a three-year contract with Somerset, where his brother, Simon, also played. During his first season at Somerset, he made ten first-class appearances, including eight in the County Championship; later in the season he made a second century with 110 runs against Hampshire. In addition to his fourteen one-day matches in 2004, Francis also made his Twenty20 debut against Warwickshire in the 2004 Twenty20 Cup. Francis had his most prolific first-class season in 2005, and making his highest first-class score with an unbeaten 125 against Yorkshire at Leeds. In 2007, he made just one first-class appearance against Loughborough UCCE,

Following his retirement, Francis went into business with the brother of Wes Durston, his former teammate at Somerset, running a marquee business in the South West of England.