John Keene

Who was John Keene?

John William Keene was an English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Surrey, Worcestershire and Scotland around the turn of the 20th century. Almost exclusively a bowler, his highest score in 36 innings was a mere 12. He later stood twice as an umpire: in Scotland's home matches against the Australians and South Africans in 1912.

Having already made a number of appearances for Surrey Second XI, Keene's first-class debut for the county came against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in June 1897: he took 3-61 in the first innings, his maiden victim being Walter Quaife. He also played against Sussex at the end of the summer, but despite playing more games for the Second XI in subsequent seasons, those two appearances in 1897 were the sum total of his first-class career for Surrey.

Keene reappeared in county cricket in 1903, when he played 13 times for Worcestershire, and collected a season's best aggregate of 36 wickets at an average of 17.88. This included an outstanding performance against Leicestershire at Leicester, when he took 6-22 in the first innings and 5-16 in the second; Worcestershire crushed their opponents by an innings and 110 runs. Earlier that summer he had bowled unchanged throughout Warwickshire's first innings with Ted Arnold: both men recorded figures of 5-44.