Ken Barrington

Ken Barrington
Personal information
Full name
Kenneth Frank Barrington
Born(1930-11-24)24 November 1930
Reading, Berkshire, England
Died14 March 1981(1981-03-14) (aged 50)
Saint Michael, Barbados
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm leg break
RoleBatsman
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 380)9 June 1955 v South Africa
Last Test30 July 1968 v Australia
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1953–1968Surrey
Career statistics
Competition Test FC LA
Matches 82 533 14
Runs scored 6,806 31,714 399
Batting average 58.67 45.63 33.25
100s/50s 20/35 76/171 0/3
Top score 256 256 70*
Balls bowled 2,715 17,924 108
Wickets 29 273 4
Bowling average 44.82 32.61 33.33
5 wickets in innings 0 8 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 0
Best bowling 3/4 7/40 3/41
Catches/stumpings 58/– 514/– 5/–
Source: CricketArchive, 18 July 2009

Kenneth Frank Barrington (24 November 1930 – 14 March 1981),[1] was an English international cricketer who played for the England cricket team and Surrey County Cricket Club in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional leg-spin bowler, known for his jovial good humour and long, defensive innings "batting with bulldog determination and awesome concentration".[2]

His batting improved with the quality of the opposition; he averaged 39.87 in the County Championship, 45.63 in first-class cricket, 58.67 in Test cricket and 63.96 against Australia. Of players with a completed career, only Don Bradman with his average of 99.94 made more than Barrington's 6,806 Test runs at a higher average,[3] which is the seventh highest of batsmen who have made 1,000 Test runs, and the highest by a post-war England batsman. His 256 in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford in 1964 is the third highest score for England against Australia and the highest since the Second World War. Barrington twice made centuries in four successive Tests, and was the first England batsmen to make hundreds on all six traditional Test grounds: Old Trafford, Edgbaston, Headingley, Lord's, Trent Bridge and The Oval.[4]

His Test career ended when he had a heart attack in Australia in 1968, even though he had several potentially fruitful years ahead of him. From 1975 to 1981 he was an England selector and a regular tour manager. He died from a second heart attack on 14 March 1981 during the Third Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, where he had made his maiden Test century 21 years before.[5][6]

  1. ^ Cricwaves.com. "KF Barrington". Cricwaves. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  2. ^ p. 460, Frith
  3. ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / Test matches / Batting records Test Batting average with minimum qualification of 5000 runs in Test cricket".
  4. ^ p. 125, Peel
  5. ^ pp 42, 190, Peel
  6. ^ Selvey, Mike (16 March 2016). "Remembering Ken Barrington: a sudden departure, most unlike his batting". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 October 2017.