Cuthbert James Burnup, one of the great names in Kent cricket in the early years of this century, died in London on April 5 at the age of 84. He was born at Blackheath on November 21, 1875, and was educated at Malvern, where he was in the XI for three years, and at Cambridge, playing against Oxford in 1896-97-98. He was a particularly fine opening batsman, a moq consistent run-getter throughout his career, and equally happy on all kinds of wickets.

Although a watchful batsman who rarely played a risky stroke, he was nevertheless often associated with fast scoring for he was able to make runs all round the wicket, his hits to leg being as powerful as his cover drives. Against Somerset at Taunton in 1906, he took part in successive stands of 70 in half-an-hour, 116 in 35 minutes and 58 (unbroken) in 12 minutes, while at Tonbridge in 1900 he and P. C. Baker added 77 together in 25 minutes against Hampshire. He marked his first appearance for the Gentlemen against the Players by scoring a century, and more than one competent judge considered him good enough to play for England. To him fell the honour of scoring the first double-century ever made for Kent - a score of exactly 200 at Old Trafford in 1900, the highest of his career, and for a very long period he shared the record opening stand for the county of 243 with E. W. Dillon against Hampshire at Tunbridge Wells in 1902. In that year he had the distinction of scoring over 2,000 runs, a feat performed by only two others that summer-Trumper and Abel.

In the course of his first-class career, from 1895 to 1907, he scored 13,585 runs, including 26 centuries, with an average of 36.81. He visited Holland with P. H. Foley's team in 1895, America under P. F. Warner in 1898, and was a member of Lord Hawke's side to New Zealand and Australia in 1902-03. In 1903, after captaining Kent throughout the summer, he led the side on a short tour of America. Apart from his batting abilities, he was a splendid outfield and a much underrated bowler. In addition, he represented England against Scotland at Association Football in 1896.
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