The summer of cricket is back.

The Aussies kicked off their campaign against Pakistan in Brisbane on Thursday, the same week the Hawthorn list commenced its pre-season program.

So, that got us thinking, was there ever a Hawthorn player that also played first-class cricket?

The answer might surprise you.

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The Hawks certainly have had some talented cricketers come through their doors, with seven past players also featuring at first-class level.

The most notable of these is Hawthorn Team of the Century member Ian Law.

Playing in the club’s first premiership in 1961, Law won three best and fairest awards, including his first in the premiership year, across his nine seasons and 106 games in the brown and gold.

But the excitement of 1961 didn’t end there for the then-23-year-old Law.

In the ensuing 1961/62 Sheffield Shield season, the left-handed specialist batsman made his debut for Victoria.

He went on to play four matches for the state over the next three years, with his other two Hawthorn club champion awards also coinciding with years where cricket was his pre-season.

The most accomplished cricketer who also pulled on a Hawthorn jumper was Michael Fitchett.

Fitchett was a regular fixture for Victoria in the 1951/52 Sheffield Shield season, in which he recorded his first and only first-class century against Western Australia.

The right-handed batsman who grew up in Hawthorn played a total of 13 first-class games at a batting average of 32.7 runs.

John “Jack” Francis was another former Hawk who notched up a 135-run ton for the Vics, when he opened the batting for the state against Tasmania in 1932.      

First-class cricketers who played a game for Hawthorn