Ken Barrington

Kenneth Frank Barrington (24 November 1930 – 14 March 1981), better known as Ken Barrington, played for the English cricket team and Surrey County Cricket Club in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional leg-spin bowler, well known for his jovial good humour and long, defensive innings. His batting improved with the quality of the opposition; he averaged 39.87 in the County Championship, 45.63 in First Class Cricket, 58.67 in Test cricket and 63.96 against Australia. His 256 in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford in 1964 is the highest post-war century for England against Australia and he has the highest Test average of any post-war England batsman except Jonathan Trott. He twice made centuries in four successive Tests and was the first England batsmen to make a hundred on all six traditional Test grounds; Old Trafford, Edgbaston, Headingley, Lords, Trent Bridge and the Oval. His Test career ended when he had a heart attack in Australia in 1968, even though he had several potentially fruitful years ahead of him. From 1975 to 1981 he was an England selector and a regular tour manager, but died from a second heart attack on 14 March 1981 during the Third Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, where he had made his maiden Test century 21 years before.

Early life

Family

Ken Barrington was the eldest child of Percy and Winifred Barrington and had two...
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