Frank Penn (cricketer, born 1851)

Frank Penn (7 March 1851 – 26 December 1916) was an amateur cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club from 1875 to 1881 and was considered one of the finest batsmen of his day. He played once for the England cricket team in the first Test match played in the country in 1880.[1]

Frank Penn
Penn in around 1878
Personal information
Born(1851-03-07)7 March 1851
Lee, London
Died26 December 1916(1916-12-26) (aged 65)
Bifrons, Patrixbourne, Kent
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm slow (round-arm)
RelationsJohn Penn (father)
John Penn (brother)
William Penn (brother)
Dick Penn (brother)
Frank Penn (cricketer, born 1884) (son)
International information
National side
Only Test6 September 1880 v Australia
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1875–1881Kent
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class
Matches 1 98
Runs scored 50 4,291
Batting average 50.00 27.15
100s/50s 0/0 6/17
Top score 27* 160
Balls bowled 12 897
Wickets 0 10
Bowling average – 37.10
5 wickets in innings 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling – 3/36
Catches/stumpings 0/– 49/–
Source: CricInfo, 11 November 2018

Penn was both at Lee in Lewisham, south-east London in 1851, the son of John Penn. Hie father was an engineer and ran John Penn and Sons, a company manufacturing marine steam engines in Deptford and Greenwich.[2] He made his first-class cricket debut for Kent in 1875, having played club cricket previously.[3][4]

His Wisden obituary describes Penn as "the famous Kent batsman" who had had "a short but very brilliant career, ranking for several years among the finest batsmen of his day."[3] It described his batting as combining "strong defence with splendid hitting" and sad that he had "a free, commanding style".[3] In 1877 he made 857 runs in 24 innings, including two centuries, and took part in the tour of Australia by Lord Harris' side in 1878/79, although he did not play in the only Test match during the tour.[3]

He did, however, play in the first Test in England in 1880, hitting the winning runs.[3] His cricket career ended in 1881 when his doctor advised him not to run due to heart disease.[3] He had played in 98 first-class matches, 62 of them for Kent.[5]

After his playing career, Penn remained a prominent figure at Kent, helping Lord Harris build the club. He was the club's President in 1905.

Penn died at Patrixbourne near Canterbury in 1916 aged with an estate valued at £981.[6]

Family

His brothers William and Dick also played for Kent, as did his son Frank junior. Another brother, John was the Member of Parliament for Lewisham from 1891 to 1903. He was married to Grace.

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References
  1. Godfrey CJM (1939) 'I was there', CricInfo. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  2. Hartree R (2008) John Penn and Sons of Greenwich. Landmark Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84306-411-4
  3. Mr Frank Penn, Obituaries in 1916, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1917. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  4. Frank Penn, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  5. Ambrose D (2003) A brief profile if Frank Penn, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  6. Hartree op. cit., p.95.
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