Bennett (London cricketer)
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Bennett (London cricketer) refers to two English cricketers, probably brothers, who played for the famous London Cricket Club in the 1740s and 1750s. They also played for All-England teams and were prominent in the single wicket variety of the sport, which was hugely popular at that time.
Both the Bennetts were acclaimed as great batsmen. There is an article in The Connoisseur (no. 132, dated 1746) about Robert Colchin that includes: "....but his (Colchin's) greatest excellence is cricket-playing, in which he is reckoned as good a bat as either of the Bennetts...." [1]
Unfortunately, little else is known about the Bennetts outside contemporary match reports. Their first names are not recorded anywhere and they are consistently referred to as "Little" Bennett and "Tall" Bennett, their heights seemingly the only differentiating factor.
They are first noted in 1744 playing for London against Slindon [2].
In 1745, "Little" Bennett twice played for Surrey but as a "given man" [2].
In 1752, they both played for Westminster against the famous Addington Cricket Club [3].
In 1753, "Tall" Bennett played against London as a given man for a Marylebone XI [3].
The last record of them is in 1755 when they both took part in a "fives" match playing for London against Windsor & Eton on Kennington Common [4].
[edit] References
- ^ From Lads to Lord's – biographies of Little and Tall Bennett
- ^ a b F S Ashley-Cooper, At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742-1751, Cricket Magazine, 1900
- ^ a b G B Buckley, Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket, Cotterell, 1935
- ^ H T Waghorn, The Dawn of Cricket, Electric Press, 1906
