Ken Higgs
Encyclopedia
For the American basketball player, see Kenny Higgs
.
Ken(neth) Higgs (born 14 January 1937, Kidsgrove
, Staffordshire
) was an English
fast-medium bowler, who was most successful as the opening partner to Brian Statham
with Lancashire
in the 1960s. He later played with success for Leicestershire
.
Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "Higgs was a fine medium-fast bowler with an impressive pedigree, who suddenly went out of fashion with the selectors after one Test of the 1968 Ashes series".
, Higgs did not take seriously to cricket until his late teens. He was signed to the club from July 1954 to 1959, but never made a first team appearance. Making progress during military service, he began playing for his native county, Staffordshire
, taking 46 wickets for 13.13 each in 1957. Jack Ikin
, a Staffordshire native, recommended Higgs to Lancashire and he began playing for them in 1958.
in his first County Championship
match. He took over 100 wickets in each season from 1959 to 1960, but was one of the few cricketers to take 100 wickets in a season at over thirty runs each in 1961, and he ceased to be an automatic choice.
In 1965, a wet summer, he took 102 wickets in County Championship matches, and formed a formidable partnership with Statham. His best performance was 7 for 19 against Leicestershire. He was selected for the last Test
at The Oval
and took 8 for 143 against a formidable South African batting line-up, and was selected for MCC tour of Australia in 1965-66, where he had a modest time, but took 17 wickets (9.24) in three Tests in New Zealand.
Higgs, only a tail-end left-hand batsman, made 63, then his highest first-class score and helped England effect a recovery from 166 for 7 to 529 all out. His partnership with John Snow
for the tenth wicket of 128, is a record for England at home. It also remains as the all-time Test match record partnership between batsmen 10 and 11.
Despite injury keeping out of two Tests against India, Higgs had a good season in 1967, taking 95 wickets at 16.92. He was named one of Cricketers Of The Year
by Wisden
. In that year, he took 17 wickets in the Test series against Pakistan. Despite this, he did not play in England's next Test series, their tour to the West Indies. He was later selected for one match of the Ashes series the following year, but was never selected again. Higgs retired from County cricket at the end of the 1969 season, and played for Rishton
in the Lancashire League. In the twelve seasons for Lancashire Higgs took 1,033 wickets, a figure which had then been exceeded by only eight players.
called Higgs out of first-class cricket retirement because of Graham McKenzie
's expected unavailability with the 1972 Australians. Higgs played regularly until the end of the 1979 season, for which he was appointed captain
. He was the fifth-highest Englishman in the bowling averages that season at the age of forty-two. In one-day cricket, Higgs played in Leicestershire's 1972 and 1974 successes in the Benson & Hedges Cup
, taking a hat-trick
in the 1974 final. All together, Higgs took 308 List 'A' wickets for his adopted county. He was also, on his day, a solid and reliable tail-end batsman, who scored over 300 runs in a season six times. His highest first-class score of 98 was part of Leicestershire's record 228 run last wicket partnership with Ray Illingworth against Northamptonshire
in 1977.
After 1979, Higgs seldom played in first-class cricket, and he retired from one-day cricket after 1982. In 1986, he returned in an emergency at the age of 49, taking 5 for 22 against Yorkshire
. He played once more, against Somerset
, without taking a wicket. In all he took 100 wickets in a season five times, and over 90 twice. He took 42 List A wickets in both 1975 and 1977.
and Nottinghamshire
. He also umpired
several Second XI fixtures.
Kenny Higgs
Kenneth Lee Higgs is a retired American professional basketball player. He is a 6'0" 180 lb point guard and he played collegiately at Louisiana State University....
.
Ken(neth) Higgs (born 14 January 1937, Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, near the border with Cheshire. It forms part of The Potteries Urban Area in North Staffordshire, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 24,112...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
) was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
fast-medium bowler, who was most successful as the opening partner to Brian Statham
Brian Statham
John Brian "George" Statham, CBE was one of the leading English fast bowlers in 20th-century English cricket. Initially a bowler of a brisk fast-medium pace, Statham was able to remodel his action to generate enough speed to become genuinely fast...
with Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
in the 1960s. He later played with success for Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
.
Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "Higgs was a fine medium-fast bowler with an impressive pedigree, who suddenly went out of fashion with the selectors after one Test of the 1968 Ashes series".
Early life and career
In his junior days concentrating on football with Port ValePort Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
, Higgs did not take seriously to cricket until his late teens. He was signed to the club from July 1954 to 1959, but never made a first team appearance. Making progress during military service, he began playing for his native county, Staffordshire
Staffordshire County Cricket Club
Staffordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Staffordshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
, taking 46 wickets for 13.13 each in 1957. Jack Ikin
Jack Ikin
John Thomas Ikin, known as Jack Ikin was an English cricketer, who played in eighteen Tests from 1946 to 1955...
, a Staffordshire native, recommended Higgs to Lancashire and he began playing for them in 1958.
Lancashire
Higgs caused instant notice taking 7 for 36 against HampshireHampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
in his first County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
match. He took over 100 wickets in each season from 1959 to 1960, but was one of the few cricketers to take 100 wickets in a season at over thirty runs each in 1961, and he ceased to be an automatic choice.
In 1965, a wet summer, he took 102 wickets in County Championship matches, and formed a formidable partnership with Statham. His best performance was 7 for 19 against Leicestershire. He was selected for the last Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
and took 8 for 143 against a formidable South African batting line-up, and was selected for MCC tour of Australia in 1965-66, where he had a modest time, but took 17 wickets (9.24) in three Tests in New Zealand.
Test selection
In 1966, against the West Indies, Higgs established himself as England's first-choice opening bowler with 25 wickets for under 26 runs. At the OvalThe Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
Higgs, only a tail-end left-hand batsman, made 63, then his highest first-class score and helped England effect a recovery from 166 for 7 to 529 all out. His partnership with John Snow
John Snow
John Snow or Jon Snow may refer to:* Jon Snow, British newscaster* John Snow , founder of epidemiology and a major contributor to the development of anaesthesia* John W. Snow, 73rd United States Secretary of the Treasury...
for the tenth wicket of 128, is a record for England at home. It also remains as the all-time Test match record partnership between batsmen 10 and 11.
Despite injury keeping out of two Tests against India, Higgs had a good season in 1967, taking 95 wickets at 16.92. He was named one of Cricketers Of The Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
by Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
. In that year, he took 17 wickets in the Test series against Pakistan. Despite this, he did not play in England's next Test series, their tour to the West Indies. He was later selected for one match of the Ashes series the following year, but was never selected again. Higgs retired from County cricket at the end of the 1969 season, and played for Rishton
Rishton
Rishton is a small town in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England, about west of Clayton-le-Moors and north-east of Blackburn. It was an urban district from 1894 to 1974....
in the Lancashire League. In the twelve seasons for Lancashire Higgs took 1,033 wickets, a figure which had then been exceeded by only eight players.
Second career with Leicestershire
After two years in the Lancashire League, the Leicestershire captain, Ray IllingworthRay Illingworth
Raymond Illingworth, CBE is a former English cricketer, cricket commentator and cricket administrator. He was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in First class cricket, and the last one to do so...
called Higgs out of first-class cricket retirement because of Graham McKenzie
Graham McKenzie
Graham Douglas "Garth" McKenzie is a former Australian and Western Australian cricketer. He was a fast bowler. First selected to play for Australia at age of 19, he toured England in 1961 under Richie Benaud...
's expected unavailability with the 1972 Australians. Higgs played regularly until the end of the 1979 season, for which he was appointed captain
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
. He was the fifth-highest Englishman in the bowling averages that season at the age of forty-two. In one-day cricket, Higgs played in Leicestershire's 1972 and 1974 successes in the Benson & Hedges Cup
Benson & Hedges Cup
The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals....
, taking a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
in the 1974 final. All together, Higgs took 308 List 'A' wickets for his adopted county. He was also, on his day, a solid and reliable tail-end batsman, who scored over 300 runs in a season six times. His highest first-class score of 98 was part of Leicestershire's record 228 run last wicket partnership with Ray Illingworth against Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
in 1977.
After 1979, Higgs seldom played in first-class cricket, and he retired from one-day cricket after 1982. In 1986, he returned in an emergency at the age of 49, taking 5 for 22 against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
. He played once more, against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
, without taking a wicket. In all he took 100 wickets in a season five times, and over 90 twice. He took 42 List A wickets in both 1975 and 1977.
Coaching career
Higgs later coached both LeicestershireLeicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
and Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
. He also umpired
Umpire (cricket)
In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...
several Second XI fixtures.