Ken Barrington

Who was Ken Barrington?

Kenneth Frank Barrington, better known as Ken Barrington, 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, well known for his jovial good humour and long, defensive innings "batting with bulldog determination and awesome concentration". 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. Barrington's average of 58.67 is the highest of any post-war England batsmen, the third highest of batsmen who have made 2,500 Test runs, and seventh highest of those who have made 1,000 Test runs. His 256 in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford in 1964 is the highest post-war century for England against Australia, he 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, Lords, Trent Bridge and the Oval. 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, but 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.