Joe Hardstaff was born in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, and was the third member in successive generations to represent his family in first-class cricket.
He played cricket for the Free Foresters in two first-class matches in 1961 and 1962.
He also captained the Royal Air Force cricket team and played for the Combined Services cricket team, as well as representing the Marylebone Cricket Club, as a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler.
[2] He served as President of the RAF and Combined Services cricket clubs.
He succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Packham as Secretary of Middlesex County Cricket Club in 1989, and retired in 1997.