Phil King (cricketer)

Infobox cricketer biography
playername = Phil King
female =


country = England
fullname = Benjamin Philip King
nickname =
living =
dayofbirth = 22
monthofbirth = 4
yearofbirth = 1915
placeofbirth = Leeds, Yorkshire
countryofbirth = England
dayofdeath = 31
monthofdeath = 3
yearofdeath = 1970
placeofdeath = Bradford, Yorkshire
countryofdeath = England
heightft =
heightinch =
heightm =
batting = Right-handed
bowling =
role = occasional wicket-keeper
club1 = Worcestershire
year1 = 1935–1939
club2 = Lancashire
year2 = 1946–1947
deliveries = balls
columns = 1
column1 = FC
matches1 = 117
runs1 = 4,125
bat avg1 = 22.05
100s/50s1 = 6/17
top score1 = 145
deliveries1 = 6
wickets1 = 0
bowl avg1 = -
fivefor1 = 0
tenfor1 = 0
best bowling1 = -
catches/stumpings1 = 53/6
date = 6 August
year = 2008
source = http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/30/30770/30770.html

Benjamin Philip King, known as Phil King (22 April 1915–31 March 1970) was an English cricketer who played 117 first-class matches either side of the Second World War, first for Worcestershire, and then — despite his Yorkshire birthplace — for Lancashire. He was capped by Worcestershire in 1938, and by Lancashire in 1946.

King made a quiet first-class debut for Worcestershire against Northamptonshire in August 1935, scoring just 3 in his only innings. [cite web |url=http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/15/15566.html |title=Worcestershire v Northamptonshire in 1935 |accessdate=2008-08-06 |publisher=CricketArchive] He appeared twice more that season, though did nothing of note, and although he played 20 games in 1936 and 1937 he made only two half-centuries: 51 not out against Surrey in July 1936 [cite web |url=http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/15/15923.html |title=Surrey v Worcestershire in 1936 |accessdate=2008-08-06 |publisher=CricketArchive] and 50* versus Essex the following month. [cite web |url=http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/16/16016.html |title=Worcestershire v Essex in 1936 |accessdate=2008-08-06 |publisher=CricketArchive]

1938 was a considerably more successful summer for King. He passed a thousand runs for the first time, hitting 1,178 at an average of 22.65, and scoring his maiden century, 104 against Kent at Tonbridge in June. [cite web |url=http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/16/16638.html |title=Kent v Worcestershire in 1937 |accessdate=2008-08-06 |publisher=CricketArchive] He also made 124 against Hampshire at Worcester later in the season. [cite web |url=http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/16/16753.html |title=Worcestershire v Hampshire in 1937 |accessdate=2008-08-06 |publisher=CricketArchive] On this occasion, he reached his hundred before lunch.Obituary. "Wisden Cricketers' Almanack" 1971.]

Although King just failed to repeat the thousand in 1939, hitting 974 runs, he scored another two hundreds that summer. [cite web |url=http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/30/30770/f_Batting_by_Season.html |title=First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Phil King |accessdate=2008-08-06 |publisher=CricketArchive] In early July he took over the gloves from George Abell during the match against Surrey, and effected five dismissals. [cite web |url=http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/17/17065.html |title=Worcestershire v Surrey in 1939 |accessdate=2008-08-06 |publisher=CricketArchive] King was named as wicket-keeper in four other matches that year. [cite web |url=http://cricketarchive.co.uk/cgi-bin/ask_the_player_oracle.cgi?playernumber=30770 |title=Player Oracle |accessdate=2008-08-06 |publisher=CricketArchive]

When first-class cricket resumed after the war, King offered to return to Worcestershire on condition he was paid one pound for every run over a thousand he scored, but the county refused to accept.Instead, he moved to Lancashire, for whom he had a successful 1946. He scored 1,145 runs at almost 31, and again struck two centuries. The higher of these was the career-best 145 he made versus Gloucestershire in May; he scored a hundred runs before lunch on the third day, having begun the morning on 34*. [cite web |url=http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/17/17600.html |title=Gloucestershire v Worcestershire in 1946 |accessdate=2008-08-06 |publisher=CricketArchive]

King's final season of 1947 was not particularly successful: he made only 360 runs in 17 innings and passed 50 just twice. After that he retired from playing and took a position as a cricket and rugby league columnist with the "People" newspaper. In this role he twice accompanied the Great Britain team to Australia, and he was preparing for a third such tour when his life was claimed by a heart attack at the early age of 54.

Notes

References

* [http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/30/30770/30770.html Phil King] from CricketArchive
*cricinfo|ref=england/content/player/16027.html