Jimmy Blanckenberg

Infobox Historic Cricketer


nationality = South African
country = South Africa
country abbrev = RSA
name = Jimmy Blanckenberg
picture = Cricket_no_pic.pngbatting style = Right-hand bat
bowling style = Right-arm medium
tests = 18
test runs = 455
test bat avg = 19.78
test 100s/50s = 0/2
test top score = 59
test balls = 3888
test wickets = 60
test bowl avg = 30.28
test 5s = 4
test 10s = 0
test best bowling = 6 - 76
test catches/stumpings = 9/-
FCs = 74
FC runs = 2232
FC bat avg = 22.32
FC 100s/50s = 1/9
FC top score = 171
FC balls = 13455
FC wickets = 293
FC bowl avg = 21.26
FC 5s = 21
FC 10s = 3
FC best bowling = 9 - 78
FC catches/stumpings = 53/-
debut date = 13 December
debut year = 1913
last date = 16 August
last year = 1924
source = http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/44082.html Cricinfo

James Manuel Blanckenberg was born in Claremont, Cape Town, South Africa on New Year’s Eve, 1892 and died circa 1955, in West Berlin, Germany. A middle-order batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler, Blanckenberg’s first-class career spanned the years 1912 to 1924. In a period interrupted by the First World War, he played all but his final season with Western Province; his final domestic season was spent with Natal. For several years he was considered the best bowler in South Africa, a player that could bowl for hours on matting wickets if asked to do so. Twenty-one times during his career he took five wickets in an innings, his best being 9 for 78 gained at Johannesburg in the Currie Cup match between Transvaal and Western Province, January 1921. And three times he surpassed 10 wickets in a match - 11 for 161 in that same match at Johannesburg in January 1921, Transvaal v Western Province; 10 for 102 at Newlands, Cape Town in March 1921, Western Province v Natal; and 10 for 74 at Northampton on the South African tour of England in July 1924, Northants v South Africa. Two other bowling feats are worthy of note. In December, 1923, in a Currie Cup match at Johannesburg between Griqualand and Natal, Blanckenberg took 9 wickets for 75 runs. And in August, 1924, in a tour match at Cardiff against Glamorgan, he took eight wickets for 97 runs in South Africa’s only innings on the field, all his victims being bowled. Rather ironically, his highest first-class score with the bat was 171 for Natal against his former team, Western Province in December, 1923. In this drawn match, he and A.W. Nourse (186) hit a partnership worth 291 runs. Eighteen times Blanckenberg represented South Africa at Test level, his debut coming in December 1913 when J.W.H.T. Douglas led England to the first of their four victories on the tour. After failing in that game Blanckenberg then played in every South African Test match from the 1913/14 series against England to their own visit to England in 1924. Although he was generally successfully on this last tour, taking 119 wickets in all matches at an average of 22.40, he failed against the better English batsmen and admitted that "he could not bowl well on turf wickets". The exact date of Blanckenberg’s death remains unconfirmed and no obituary appeared within Wisden for him.

References

# "World Cricketers - A Biographical Dictionary" by Christopher Martin-Jenkins published by Oxford University Press (1996)
# "The Wisden Book of Test Cricket, Volume 1 (1877-1977)" compiled and edited by Bill Frindall published by Headline Book Publishing (1995)
# "Who's Who of Cricketers" by Philip Bailey, Philip Thorn & Peter Wynne-Thomas published by Hamlyn (1993)
# www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players.