Full Name

Kenneth Lotherington Hutchings

Born

December 07, 1882, Southborough, Kent

Died

September 03, 1916, Ginchy, France, (aged 33y 271d)

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Right arm Fast

Lieut. Kenneth Lotherington Hutchings (King's Liverpool Regiment, attached to Welsh Regiment) was killed in action during the first week in September. He was struck by a shell, death being instantaneous. Of all the cricketers who have fallen in the War he may fairly be described as the most famous.

Kenneth Lotherington Hutchings did not fulfil all the hopes formed of him, but at his best he was one of the most remarkable batsmen seen in this generation. Those who follow cricket will not need to be reminded of the sensation caused by his play in 1906--the year in which Kent, for the first time in modern days, came out as Champion County. To the triumph of the side no one contributed more than Hutchings. It is true that he fell a little below C. J. Burnup in the averages, but he played with amazing brilliancy, getting four 100's in county matches, and scoring 1,358 runs. His success astonished the public, but it was scarcely a surprise to those who had watched him from his school days. He had a great career at Tonbridge, being in the eleven for five years, and heading the batting for three seasons in succession. The first evidence of his ability in county cricket was given when, in 1903, he scored 106 for Kent against Somerset at Taunton. His batting in 1906 took him at once to the top of the tree, and on all hands he was regarded as an England cricketer. Unfortunately he never again reached quite the level of his great season. From time to time he did brilliant things, playing especially well in 1909 and 1910, but in 1912 he lost his form and dropped out of the Kent eleven.

In 1909 he was chosen twice for England against Australia, scoring nine at Manchester and 59 at the Oval. He paid one visit to Australia, being a member of the M.C.C.'s team in the winter of 1907-8. Taking the tour as a whole, he did not meet with the success expected, but at Melbourne, in the only Test match the Englishmen won, he played a very fine innings of 126. Hutchings was quite individual in his style of batting, recalling no predecessor. His driving power was tremendous, and when at his best he could score from good length balls wih wonderful facility. It was said in 1906 that when he played for Kent against Yorkshire, even George Hirst--most fearless of fieldsmen at mid-off--went back several yards for him, so terrific being the force of his hitting. Like most modern batsmen, Hutchings trusted for defence wholly to his back play. When he went forward it was always for the purpose of scoring. Playing the daring game that he did, he could only do himself full justice when physically very fit. His fielding was on a par with his batting. In the slips or in the deep field he was equally brilliant. He was born at Southborough, near Tunbridge Wells, on December 7, 1882.--S.H.P.

The following records of Hutchings' career speak for themselves:--

Tonbridge School

Year.Inns.Times not outMost in an inningsTotal Runs.Average.
18981124118520.55
18991106021819.81
190015212774357.15--1st. Made 127 v. Band of Brothers.
1901132101*52247.45--1st. Made 100 v. Free Foresters.
190212220563363.30--1st. Made 205 v. West Kent, 178* v. Free Foresters, and 120 v. Old Cliftonians.

For Kent:--1st played for the County in 1902.

Year.InningsTimes not outMost in an inningsTotal Runs.Average
19022010115.50
190317110645428.37
1903†6116489.60
190420669648.00
190540318721.75
1906‡2841761,45460.58
1907312109*95532.93
190836013295326.47
1909‡3611551,36839.08
1910‡3621441,46142.97
1911342103*93829.31
19121005317817.80
Totals242131768,00334.94
* Signifies not out. †American Tour. ‡ Champion County.

Hundreds in first-class cricket

106Kent v. Somerset, at Taunton 1903
125Kent v. Middlesex, at Tonbridge 1906
131Kent v. Yorkshire, at Sheffield 1906
176Kent v. Lancashire, at Canterbury 1906
124Kent v. Hampshire, at Bournemouth 1906
101Kent v. Hampshire, at Tonbridge 1907
109Kent v. Worcestershire, at Worcester 1907
109*
108Kent v. Lancashire, at Canterbury 1907
126 England v. Australia, at Melbourne 1907-8
132Kent v. Northamptonshire, at Gravesend 1908
102Kent v. Derbyshire, at Derby 1908
120 Gentlemen v. Players, at Scarborough 1908
100Kent v. Gloucestershire, at Catford 1909
155Kent v. Somerset, at Gravesend 1909
116Kent v. Hampshire, at Bournemouth 1909
104Kent v. Northamptonshire, at Northampton 1910
112Kent v. Derbyshire, at Derby 1910
109Kent v. Leicestershire, at Tonbridge 1910
144Kent v. Sussex, at Hastings 1910
114 M.C.C. & Ground v. Yorkshire, at Scarborough 1910
103*Kent v. Hampshire, at Canterbury 1911
* Signifies not out.

Gentlemen v Players:--

1906At Lord's2 and 1013 inns., 0 not out, 120 highest score, 339 total, 26.07 aver. (He made his 120 out of 164 in 100 mins.)
1906Scarborough36 and 14*
1908Scarborough3 and 120
1909Oval0 and 59
1909Scarborough11
1910Scarborough19 and 42
1911Scarborough18 and 5
* Also took 4 wickets for 15.

England v Australia:--

1907-8At Sydney42 and 1712 inns., 0 not out, 126 highest score, 341 total, 28.41 aver.
1907-8At Melbourne126 and 39
1907-8At Adelaide23 and 0
1907-8At Melbourne8 and 3
1907-8At Sydney13 and 2
1909At Manchester9
1909At Oval59

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack

Kenneth Hutchings Career Stats

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAve100s50s6sCtSt
Tests712034112628.4111190
FC207311121005417633.622256-1790

Bowling

FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
Tests74908111/51/3981.005.4090.0000
FC207-1439938244/15-39.083.9159.9-00
Kenneth Hutchings

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Test

Debut/Last Matches of Kenneth Hutchings

Recent Matches of Kenneth Hutchings

MatchBatBowlDateGroundFormat
England vs Australia590/1809-Aug-1909The OvalTest # 105
England vs Australia9--26-Jul-1909ManchesterTest # 104
Kent vs WORCS61--05-Jul-1909StourbridgeFC
M.C.C. vs West Aust460/2313-Mar-1908PerthFC
M.C.C. vs South Aust9 & 130/1602-Mar-1908AdelaideFC

Photos of Kenneth Hutchings

Kenneth Hutchings
Kenneth Hutchings