Francis Fenner

Francis Phillips Fenner (1 March 1811 – 22 May 1896) was an English cricketer for Hampshire. A right-arm fast bowler, Fenner took 176 wickets for his county at 19.00 from his 54 first-class appearances from 1829 until 1856.[1]

Francis Fenner

Personal information
Full name	Francis Phillips Fenner
Born	(1811-03-01)1 March 1811 Cambridge, England
Died	22 May 1896(1896-05-22) (aged 85) Bath, Somerset, England
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast
Role	Bowler
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1832–1855	Cambridge Town Club
1839	Cambridge University
1843–1855	Hampshire
First-class debut	28 May 1829 Cambridge Union Club v Cambridge University
Last First-class	5 May 1856 Cambridge Town and County Club v Cambridge University
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 54 Runs scored 1,126 Batting average 12.79 100s/50s 0/3 Top score 80 Balls bowled 1,306 Wickets 176 Bowling average 19.00 5 wickets in innings 15 10 wickets in match 4 Best bowling 9/? Catches/stumpings 27/1
Source: CricketArchive, 22 September 2008

He established Fenner's cricket ground in 1848 on land which he had leased. The ground is still used by Cambridge University for their home fixtures.[2]

Career

Born in Cambridge, Fenner played first-cricket from 1832 for his local town cricket club, in 1839 for Cambridge University,[3] and made his debut for Hampshire in 1843.[4] Fenner's career had not begun well with the bat, his average never reaching double figures through the first seasons of his pre-Hampshire career from 1829 until 1833.[5] In 1834 he scored 72 runs from four matches at 12.00, and in 1837 he scored 58 in one match at 29.00 including one knock of 37.[5] From 1840 until his debut for Hampshire he averaged 18.90, 16.66 with a career best of 80 and 15.28, however in his debut year for the county side this dropped until 8.62, and in his second season in 1844 he played in only one match, scoring 17.[5]

He would only make a few appearances for the rest of his career never more than three matches in the season.[5] His average did not peak above a season-high of 19.00 from 1844 until 1853. In 1854, however, he hit career best figures with the bat, playing one innings and scoring 62.[5] While his career best individual score of 80 from 1834 remained unbroken, this knock gave him a career best season average of 62.00.[5] This success did not continue, however, and his last seasons during 1855 and 1856 saw averages of 8.00 and 4.50 from only two matches.[5]

It was with the ball that Fenner enjoyed more success.[6] While he began his career as a bowler quietly, with only three wickets across his first two seasons, his bowling improved in 1834 with a return of 22 wickets.[6] Returns of six and eight in the next two years were overshadowed by 14 wickets in 1838, and 11 wickets in 1840, 27 in 1841, 24 in 1843 and 17 in 1844.[6] Single figure returns of seven, six, three and one followed, before a brief resurgence of 15 in 1849, however he was unable to take a wicket with the 48 deliveries of his final season in 1853.[6]

Notes

1. "Player Profile: Francis Fenner". CricInfo. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
2. "Fenner's". CricInfo. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
3. Fenner is not, however, listed in Venn's Alumni Cantabrigienses.
4. "Player Profile@ Francis Fenner". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
5. "First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Francis Fenner". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
6. "First-class Bowling in Each Season by Francis Fenner". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 22 September 2008.

External links

• Francis Fenner at ESPNcricinfo