A FORMER England cricket captain has been made an OBE in the New Year Honours, for Services to Sport.
Mike Denness, who lives in Hutton, is now president of Kent County Cricket Club which he served for 15 seasons.
In total he played 333 times for the county, scoring 17,047 runs at an average of 32.90. Mike scored 21 centuries with a highest score of 178 against Somerset, at Maidstone, in 1975.
A former England international, Mike played 28 Test matches for England - including 19 as captain.
He scored 1,667 runs, including four hundreds. His best of 188 came against Australia, in Melbourne on the 1974/75 tour.
He also scored seven half centuries and averaged 39.69 in Test match cricket. Mike also played for Essex, before becoming an ICC match referee, and later holding the position of chairman of the Kent Cricket Committee.
Mr Denness said: "I am absolutely delighted, and over the moon that this has come my way. I never expected this and it really is a great honour."
