Kenneth Hutchings
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Lotherington Hutchings (born 7 December 1882 in Southborough, Kent
, and killed in action on 3 September 1916 in Ginchy, France
) was a cricket
er who played for Kent
and England.
Regarded as the most graceful English batsman of the so-called "Golden Age" of English cricket before the First World War, Hutchings was a member of the Kent team that won the County Championship
in 1906, 1909 and 1910. He played just seven Test matches
for England, with a highest score of 126 at Melbourne
on the 1907/08 tour of Australia
. In that innings, he reached his hundred in 126 minutes, his second fifty taking only 51 minutes.
A. A. Thomson
wrote of him: "Though a crabbed unemotional Northerner, I sometimes think that if one last fragment of cricket had to be preserved, as though in amber, it should be a glimpse of K. L. Hutchings cover-driving under a summer heaven." According to David Denton
and George Hirst, he hit the ball harder than any other player of their time (and they were contemporaries of Jessop
). He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1907.
Southborough, Kent
Southborough civil parish, with the title of town in the District of Tunbridge Wells, in Kent, England. It lies immediately to the north of Tunbridge Wells itself, with the A26 London road passing through it. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 11,124...
, and killed in action on 3 September 1916 in Ginchy, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) was a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played for Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
and England.
Regarded as the most graceful English batsman of the so-called "Golden Age" of English cricket before the First World War, Hutchings was a member of the Kent team that won the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
in 1906, 1909 and 1910. He played just seven Test matches
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...
for England, with a highest score of 126 at Melbourne
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
on the 1907/08 tour of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In that innings, he reached his hundred in 126 minutes, his second fifty taking only 51 minutes.
A. A. Thomson
A. A. Thomson
Arthur Alexander Thomson, MBE was an English writer best known for his books on cricket, for which he used the byline "AA Thomson"...
wrote of him: "Though a crabbed unemotional Northerner, I sometimes think that if one last fragment of cricket had to be preserved, as though in amber, it should be a glimpse of K. L. Hutchings cover-driving under a summer heaven." According to David Denton
David Denton
David Denton was an English first-class cricketer. An attacking batsman, he had a long career with Yorkshire and played eleven Tests for England. His nickname of 'Lucky' came from his habit of surviving the numerous chances, that his attacking batting style naturally created for the opposition...
and George Hirst, he hit the ball harder than any other player of their time (and they were contemporaries of Jessop
Gilbert Jessop
Gilbert Laird Jessop was an English cricket player, often reckoned to have been the fastest run-scorer cricket has ever known, he was Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1898.Relations...
). He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1907.