Don Bennett (cricketer)

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Donald Bennett (born Wakefield, Yorkshire 18 December 1933) is a retired English cricketer and footballer.

[edit] Cricket career

As a cricketer, he made his first-class debut as a sixteen year old for Middlesex in 1950. He played as an all-rounder until his retirement in 1968, when he succeeded Jack Robertson as County Coach.

He remained coach for 29 years until his retirement in 1997, steering the county through its most successful period during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. Middlesex won the County Championship, the Benson & Hedges Cup , the Gillette Cup, the Refuge Assurance Cup and the Sunday League under his guidance.

He later served as Chairman of the Cricket Committee and as a member of the General Committee. He was awarded a Life Vice-Presidency and he began a two year term as President at the 2007 Annual General Meeting, succeeding Charles Robins.

[edit] Football career

Don Bennett also played professional football. He joined Arsenal in 1950 as an amateur, becoming a professional in 1951. In a nine-year spell at Arsenal he did not play a single first-team competitive match, instead regularly turning out for the reserve team, first on the wing and then as a full back. He moved to Coventry City in 1959. He spent three seasons with the Sky Blues, playing 73 times in that time, before retiring in 1962.