John Higgins

Who was John Higgins?

John Bernard Higgins was an English cricketer and umpire. As a player, he made 121 first-class appearances between 1912 and 1930, having earlier played in the Minor Counties Championship for Staffordshire. The great majority of his first-class matches were for Worcestershire, though he also played in India for the Europeans and, once, a joint "Europeans and Parsees" side. He umpired four first-class games, including one Test match.

Higgins was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham, where he was in the cricket XI. In his teens and early twenties, Higgins played football as an inside left. He appeared once in the Football League First Division for Birmingham in the 1907–08 season, and was also on the books of Aston Villa and Brierley Hill Alliance, retaining his amateur status throughout his football career.

He made his first-class cricket debut for Worcestershire against Leicestershire at Amblecote in 1912. Only one day's play was possible in the match, during which Higgins scored 5 and bowled five wicketless overs for 34. It was to be eight years before he played first-class cricket again.