Standard and BBC Sport
Sunday, 12 June 2011
“Hearty congratulations to Andy Flower for being award Order of British Empire (OBE),†twitted Senator David Coltart yesterday.
Cricketers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook are among the sports stars named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
England captain Strauss is made OBE, along with team coach Andy Flower and golfer Lee Westwood.
Cook, player of the series in last winter’s Ashes win, athletes Phillips Idowu and Jessica Ennis and cyclist Mark Cavendish all become MBEs.
Four-time Derby-winning trainer Henry Cecil receives a knighthood for his services to horse racing.
There is also an honour for ex-basketball star John Amaechi, who grew up in Stockport before moving to the US and becoming one of the game’s biggest names. He is made OBE.
The 40-year-old became the first openly gay NBA player after coming out in 2007.
Among the administrators honoured are former Olympics Delivery Authority chief executive David Higgins, who receives a knighthood, and David Sparkes, the chief executive of British swimming, who becomes an OBE after overseeing a transformation in the sport.
Strauss, Flower and Cook are recognised for their achievement in winning the Ashes in Australia for the first time in 24 years.