England opener Zak Crawley gifted his match-worn shirt to a blind England fan touring with the Barmy Army, following his century in the second innings of the first test against West Indies.
Crawley proved to be a shining light in England’s series opener, as the 24-year-old starred with the bat after notching up an impressive 121 off 216 balls.
As is often the case the England side were well followed by the Barmy Army in Antigua, and the travelling fans rose to their feet after Crawley picked up his second Test ton.
In the celebrations one man who caught the eye of many was blind Barmy Army member Martin Lloyd, who was seen enjoying Crawley’s feat as much as anyone despite his visual impairment.
Lloyd travelled out to the Caribbean alongside his wife Tara, and ended up meeting fellow England fan Rich ‘Tiny’ Nicholls, who acted as his ball-by-ball commentator whilst watching the action unfold.
A clip of Nicholls describing the moment Crawley moved on to 100 was captured on video and was shared by the Barmy Army twitter page, and has since accumulated over half a million views.
In the clip Lloyd can be seen loving every second of his fellow fan’s description of the England opener’s achievement, and it seems the video reached the man Crawley himself.
As a result, the next video shared of Lloyd on the Barmy Army’s social media pages was the England supporter being presented with Crawley’s match shirt which appeared to be signed by the whole England team.
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The gift, and the England opener’s century proved to be extra special for Lloyd, after the Barmy Army member revealed he was a Kent fan, the County in which Crawley plays his domestic cricket.
Speaking about the amazing experience Lloyd told the PA Agency: “It was superb to be here for Joe Root’s century, Rich talked me through it all, and I’m a Kent fan so to witness Zak’s century was a top moment.
“Rich didn’t have to do this for me, come and talk me through the game. I only met him on Tuesday on the first day of the cricket.
“The Barmy Army is a Barmy family really, everyone looks out for everyone and I just want to say thank you for the kindness and consideration.”
Despite Crawley’s century England were unable to secure victory, but did however come away with a credible draw, after the Windies batted out the fifth and final day losing four wickets.
