| Personal information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Philip King | |||
| Born | 22 April 1915 Leeds, Yorkshire, England |
|||
| Died | 31 March 1970 (aged 54) Bradford, Yorkshire, England |
|||
| Batting style | Right-handed | |||
| Role | occasional wicket-keeper | |||
| Domestic team information | ||||
| Years | Team | |||
| 1935–1939 | Worcestershire | |||
| 1946–1947 | Lancashire | |||
| Career statistics | ||||
| Competition | FC | |||
| Matches | 117 | |||
| Runs scored | 4,125 | |||
| Batting average | 22.05 | |||
| 100s/50s | 6/17 | |||
| Top score | 145 | |||
| Balls bowled | 6 | |||
| Wickets | 0 | |||
| Bowling average | - | |||
| 5 wickets in innings | 0 | |||
| 10 wickets in match | 0 | |||
| Best bowling | - | |||
| Catches/stumpings | 53/6 | |||
| Source: [1], 6 August 2008 | ||||
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.[1] 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[2] and 50* versus Essex the following month.[3]
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.[4] He also made 124 against Hampshire at Worcester later in the season.[5] On this occasion, he reached his hundred before lunch.[6]
Although King just failed to repeat the thousand in 1939, hitting 974 runs, he scored another two hundreds that summer.[7] In early July he took over the gloves from George Abell during the match against Surrey, and effected five dismissals.[8] King was named as wicket-keeper in four other matches that year.[9]
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.[6] 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*.[6][10]
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.[6]