Ken Barrington was a right-handed batsman and occasional leg-spin bowler, known for his jovial good humour and long, defensive innings "batting with bulldog determination and awesome concentration".
162 Facts About Ken Barrington
2.
Ken Barrington's batting improved with the quality of the opposition; he averaged 39.87 in the County Championship, 45.63 in first-class cricket, 58.67 in Test cricket and 63.96 against Australia.
3.
Ken Barrington twice made centuries in four successive Tests, and was the first England batsmen to make hundreds on all six traditional Test grounds: Old Trafford, Edgbaston, Headingley, Lord's, Trent Bridge and The Oval.
4.
Ken Barrington died from a second heart attack on 14 March 1981 during the Third Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, where he had made his maiden Test century 21 years before.
5.
Ken Barrington was the eldest child of Percy and Winifred Barrington and had two brothers, Roy and Colin, and a sister, Sheila.
6.
Ken Barrington's father was a career soldier who served in the British Army for 28 years, 24 of them in the Royal Berkshire Regiment.
7.
Ken Barrington's children grew up in the barracks and led a rather spartan life during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
8.
When Ken Barrington became a professional cricketer he often gave his family tickets for the Oval so they could see him play.
9.
Percy Ken Barrington was a keen cricketer, played for the regimental cricket team as an all-rounder and taught all his children how to play, using a piece of wood as a cricket bat.
10.
In 1945 Ken Barrington left school aged 14 and took up work as a motor mechanic in Reading, Fred Titmus saying "he could drive anything from a tank to a scooter".
11.
Ken Barrington played for the White Hart Hotel XI on Sundays and the Reading Wednesday XI where he was spotted by the ex-England and Surrey batsman Andy Sandham.
12.
Ken Barrington took 30 wickets at an average of 13, but batted down the order.
13.
Alec Bedser predicted that Ken Barrington was a future Test player and Sandham later stated that Ken Barrington was his best pupil.
14.
Ken Barrington worked on preparing the vast Oval ground for first-class cricket and played for the Surrey Club and Ground cricket team, though still down the order.
15.
Ken Barrington served as a Lance-Corporal in the Wiltshire Regiment stationed in Germany.
16.
Ken Barrington's leg-spin was helped by the matting wickets used by the British Army cricket team.
17.
Ken Barrington had strong army connections and remained in the Territorial Army after his National Service ended in 1950.
18.
On his discharge in August 1950 Ken Barrington returned to Surrey and professional coaching.
19.
In 1953 Ken Barrington joined this formidable Surrey team including Alec and Eric Bedser, Peter May, Jim Laker, Tony Lock, Peter Loader and Arthur McIntyre.
20.
Ken Barrington made his first-class cricket debut against the Marylebone Cricket Club in their traditional match against the champions at Lord's at the start of the cricket season.
21.
Ken Barrington batted at number six and was stumped by Godfrey Evans off Alan Oakman for 7 in the first innings and caught off Oakman for 17 in the second as Surrey lost a low scoring match by 107 runs.
22.
Richie Benaud recalled that he was a very correct batsman, but Ken Barrington was returned to the Second XI.
23.
Ken Barrington played only a few games in the County Championship and top-scored with 81 against Worcestershire.
24.
Ken Barrington made 89 against Essex in a game where nobody else passed 50 and 102 against the Pakistanis.
25.
Ken Barrington met his future wife Ann Cozens at a dance in Reading in 1952.
26.
Ken Barrington was a secretary for the local Education Department, taught at Sunday School and played netball.
27.
Ken Barrington made 135 not out against Lancashire and 126 against Nottinghamshire, which won him his county cap.
28.
Ken Barrington batted at number 4, replacing Colin Cowdrey who was unable to play.
29.
Ken Barrington made a duck and though England won by an innings he felt isolated from the England regulars who he barely knew.
30.
Ken Barrington made 70 not out in the first match against Karachi and 66 in the second against Sind.
31.
Ken Barrington made 10 and 52,43 and 11,32 and 0 and 76 and 10 in these matches, the 43 taking 4 hours against the bowling of Fazal Mahmood.
32.
The Australians were touring again in 1956 and when Len Maddocks saw Ken Barrington he told Keith Miller "This fellow looks the part; he might give us some trouble before long".
33.
Ken Barrington lost his form in these seasons and could not fight his way back into the England team.
34.
In one area Ken Barrington showed improvement as with Surridge gone Surrey needed another close fielder and he was made first slip.
35.
Ken Barrington took 64 catches in his first season in this position and as Mickey Stewart held 77 catches and Tony Lock 63 Surrey more than held onto their chances.
36.
In June 1957 Ken Barrington's batting picked up with 12 fours and 4 sixes in his 124 not out against Gloucestershire and 103 not out against the West Indies including their famous spinners Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine.
37.
Towards the end of the season Ken Barrington could afford to relax and he hit three more hundreds.
38.
Ken Barrington made 97 against Cambridge University soon followed by 186 and 118 not out against Warwickshire at Edgbaston; 85 and 59 not out against the Indians at the Oval and 113 not out against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.
39.
Ken Barrington took 20 minutes to get off the mark, but hit two sixes off Chandu Borde to bring up his 50 and was out for 56 in a stand of 175 as England won by an innings.
40.
Surrey had their own tour to Rhodesia, where Ken Barrington made 111 in their 2 run defeat.
41.
The England team crossed the Atlantic in a banana boat and were promptly defeated by Barbados even though Ken Barrington made 79 in each innings.
42.
Ken Barrington was stuck on 97 before driving Reg Scarlett to the boundary and was hit in the kidney by a bouncer from Watson.
43.
Ken Barrington was given out caught by Gerry Alexander off Sonny Ramadhin, but hesitated to walk after the umpire's decision and was made to apologise by the MCC manager Walter Robins.
44.
In what were to become familiar figures Ken Barrington's century took 340 minutes to compile, but he struck 20 fours.
45.
Ken Barrington saw off their attack and added 132 with Ted Dexter, but was hit on the head by a Wes Hall bouncer on 87.
46.
Nobody relished the short-pitched bowling, but Ken Barrington showed his dislike more than most and as a result became a special target.
47.
Ken Barrington proved vulnerable as his expressive face encouraged the fast bowlers and he ducked late, making him look ungainly.
48.
Ken Barrington made 16 and 4 in the Third Test and was barely declared fit for the Fourth Test after suffering from bronchial asthma and being hit on the elbow by Hall.
49.
Ken Barrington retired hurt for a few minutes, but declined to go to hospital and resumed his innings even though he could not play any strokes, making 5 runs in a stand of 39 with Dave Allen and making a duck in the second innings.
50.
Ken Barrington returned to hook and cut his way to 69 in the last Test.
51.
Ken Barrington made six 50s in his first ten innings for Surrey, but then had a string of low scores and was made twelfth man for the First Test against South Africa.
52.
Ken Barrington made 126,63 and 62 in his next three matches and was back in the team for the Second Test at Lord's, famous for the South African bowler Geoff Griffin taking a hat-trick and being no-balled out of Test cricket.
53.
Ken Barrington made only 24 in England's innings victory, top-scored with 80 in the Third Test and hit the winning run after being missed in the slips before scoring.
54.
Ken Barrington top-scored in both innings in the Fourth Test with 76 and 35 and was dismissed by Trevor Goddard for the fourth time in a row.
55.
Ken Barrington broke a toe early in the season, but recovered to hit 151 not out against Hampshire and played in the First Test at Edgbaston.
56.
Dexter hit 180 while Ken Barrington hung on for 190 minutes making 48 not out in their partnership of 161 and the match was saved.
57.
Ken Barrington played another rearguard innings of 66 at Lord's in the Second Test and 78 in the first innings of the famous Fourth Test at Old Trafford.
58.
Ken Barrington had fractured his wrist against Middlesex, but played anyway and made 53 and 83 in the draw.
59.
Ken Barrington ended with a solid 364 runs and 2,070 first-class runs, but still had to make a Test century in England.
60.
In India they played the Combined Universities at Poona and Ken Barrington made 149 not out in 290 minutes, and when he took two wickets there was a pitch invasion as the crowd gave him presents, including a pair of sunglasses, which he used for the rest of the match, even when bowling.
61.
The match was broadcast on radio and Ken Barrington became a star, which he played up to throughout the tour with imitations of Gary Sobers and a pompous Colonel, playing football with the ball and putting his fingers in his ears when the crowd shouted "Mora, Mora".
62.
Ken Barrington was a great success in the series with innings of 151 not out, 52 not out, 21,172,113 not out, 14,3,20 and 48; a total of 594 runs.
63.
Ken Barrington made four centuries in four successive Tests for the first time, but the hosts won the Fourth and Fifth Tests.
64.
Ken Barrington finished with 229 runs in the series against Pakistan and 1,329 runs on the tour, nearly 300 more than anyone else and top of the averages.
65.
Ken Barrington had a poor season in 1962, tonsillitis robbed him of match practice before the First Test against the visiting Pakistanis and he made only 10 runs in the first three Tests.
66.
Ken Barrington made only 60 runs, but did better for Surrey, making 1,865 first-class runs in the season and was kept in the team set to tour Australia and New Zealand.
67.
Ken Barrington did little in the first three Tests, making 78 in the first innings of the First Test at Brisbane, where he hit 6 fours in 20 minutes off the leg-spin of Richie Benaud and Bobby Simpson, but then took another 210 minutes to make 40 more runs.
68.
Ken Barrington looked completely assured and began sweeping the Australian spin bowlers as Benaud, Simpson and Norm O'Neill all tried their arm.
69.
Ken Barrington reached his ton with a pull for six off Simpson over long-on, his seventh Test century and his first against Australia.
70.
The famous Sydney Hill become restless, with Ken Barrington raising his cap when he was jeered and a slow hand clap started around the ground.
71.
Ken Barrington made 76 in the Second Test to give him six consecutive 50s in Test cricket, an England record he shares with Patsy Hendren, Ted Dexter and Alastair Cook.
72.
Ken Barrington made 110 not out against them for Surrey and joked that the Test match would be over in three days as England had gone 13 Tests against the West Indies without defeat.
73.
The Second Test at Lord's is one of the Great Tests; the West Indies made 301 and Ken Barrington top scored with 80 in England's reply of 297.
74.
JK Smith, again with a weakened team, but after his last triumph Barrington was keen to tour.
75.
Ken Barrington made 80 in 312 minutes in the First Test at Madras when England were trying to avoid defeat and the spinner Bapu Nadkarni bowled 131 balls without conceding a run.
76.
The Test was drawn and in a tour match at Ahmedabad Ken Barrington made 72 and broke his finger fielding.
77.
Ken Barrington was out for the rest of the injury-struck tour and returned to Surrey to organise his benefit.
78.
England's reply depended heavily on Ken Barrington who made 85 until he had an unlucky lbw decision and they were all out for 229.
79.
In reply Ken Barrington made his first Test century in England and his highest Test score; 256 in 683 minutes with 26 fours and adding 246 for the third wicket with Dexter; "It was a spirited reply that captured the imagination, but the inevitable draw meant that the Ashes stayed with Australia".
80.
Ken Barrington was made a tour selector and unexpectedly granted permission to bring his wife Ann to South Africa, so she quit her job to join him on the tour.
81.
The matter was re-opened by Ken Barrington who was given not out at 49, then walked off as he had nicked the ball to Lindsay.
82.
Ken Barrington opened the batting with Geoff Boycott and made 14 not out.
83.
Ken Barrington was the chief scorer with 508 runs in the Tests and 1128 runs on the tour.
84.
Ken Barrington topped the tour bowling averages with 24 wickets, but leg-spin was out of fashion and was barely used in the Tests.
85.
Ken Barrington was out of form, and had been berated by the Surrey captain Micky Stewart for slow scoring, but was retained in the England team for the First Test at Edgbaston.
86.
Ken Barrington was depressed and even considered retirement, but worked on his batting and made 70 and 129 not out for Surrey against the tourists.
87.
England won the Second Test and with Boycott and Dexter injured Ken Barrington was recalled for the Third Test at Headingley.
88.
Ken Barrington's mother had been ill and his father-in-law died when he reached Australia.
89.
Ken Barrington made 53,38 and 63 in the drawn Tests at Brisbane and Melbourne and just 1 in England's innings victory in the Third Test at Sydney.
90.
Ken Barrington's hundred came off 122 balls and won him "one of the most moving ovations I have heard in Australia", and the Walter Lawrence Trophy for the fastest Test century of 1966.
91.
Ken Barrington was caught for 115 by Wally Grout who told Doug Walters to bowl him a ball down the leg so that he could move over and catch the glance.
92.
Ken Barrington made a series total of 464, topped the England averages again and with 946 runs and 6 wickets and headed the batting and bowling averages on the tour.
93.
Ken Barrington was excused the tour to New Zealand and was allowed to return home due to fatigue.
94.
Ken Barrington returned to England exhausted after the Australian tour, but had to attend Surrey's pre-season training and social functions that gave him little chance to rest.
95.
Ken Barrington added fuel to the fire by telling the Daily Mail that he thought Griffith was a chucker and that he would refuse to play against him.
96.
Ken Barrington played in the Second Test at Lord's with Colin Cowdrey in charge, but made only 19 and 5 in the drawn match.
97.
Ken Barrington was selected for the Third Test, but admitted to the selector Alec Bedser that he was not well and withdrew from the Test series, having made only 59 runs.
98.
Ken Barrington stayed at home for a few days, then took a week-long holiday in Bournemouth.
99.
Ken Barrington captained Surrey to victory over the visiting Indians and was recalled for the First Test at Headingley.
100.
Ken Barrington survived the early swing to make 93 and added 139 with Geoff Boycott whose 573-minute 246 not out had him dropped for slow scoring a la Ken Barrington.
101.
India made 510 after following on and England won by 6 wickets after Ken Barrington made 46 opening with his Surrey teammate John Edrich instead of the injured Boycott.
102.
Ken Barrington was asked to open again in the Second Test at Lord's and made 97 in England's innings victory.
103.
Pakistan were saved by 187 not out by their captain Hanif Mohammed and after Ken Barrington made 14 in the second innings the game was drawn.
104.
Half the England team was dropped for the Second Test at Trent Bridge and after Pakistan were out for 140 Ken Barrington made a sheet-anchor 109 not out in England's reply of 252, an innings that lasted 409 minutes and 117 overs on a saturated pitch, which was enough for a 10 wicket victory.
105.
Ken Barrington remained in charge for the Third Test at the Oval and he stayed at Ken's house so that he could avoid the press.
106.
On his home ground Ken Barrington advised him to put Pakistan in to bat and they were out for 216, England replied with 440 with Ken Barrington himself making 142 in 344 minutes, hitting 141 runs in 152 minutes with Tom Graveney and striking 14 fours.
107.
Ken Barrington made 13 not out in the second innings in England's 8 wicket victory and his 426 runs placed him at the top of the series averages.
108.
Ken Barrington was so upset that told his wife that he wouldn't tour again.
109.
Ken Barrington brought up his 50 with a six off Lance Gibbs and added 134 with Cowdrey and 188 with Tom Graveney before hitting Gibbs for another six to bring up his 20th century.
110.
When he saw the ball sailing into the stands the 37-year-old Ken Barrington took off his cap and waved his fist in triumph.
111.
Ken Barrington was finally caught by Griffith off Gibbs for 143, the second time that he had made a century in four successive Tests.
112.
Ken Barrington made 63 in the Second Test at Sabina Park, Jamaica, again stopping Griffith's run up as the crowd went wild.
113.
Ken Barrington had made only 4 and 0, but finished with 288 runs and 5 wickets, having dismissed Sobers and Seymour Nurse twice each and the opener Steve Camacho.
114.
Ken Barrington had flu at the start of the season, made a depressing pair against Derbyshire and withdrew from the First Test due to back trouble, which Australia won.
115.
Ken Barrington returned for the Second Test at Lord's and made a patient 75 after having retired hurt on 61 with a broken finger from Garth McKenzie.
116.
Ken Barrington made a century and was elected the first president of the Israeli Cricket Supporters' Association.
117.
Ken Barrington was helped to a chair and then a massage table and a call was made to the crowd for a doctor.
118.
Simpson called his wife Ann, who flew in from London, and Ken Barrington was given a room with a view of the MCG.
119.
Ken Barrington had had a thrombosis, but the heart muscles repaired themselves and he made a full recovery.
120.
Ken Barrington was told to take a complete rest and returned to England on the SS Canberra, celebrating his 38th birthday with a cake shaped like a cricket bat.
121.
In 1968 the Barringtons moved to Fetcham and Ken wanted to call the new house Adelaide after the Adelaide Oval, but Ann objected and they called it Newlands after Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town where he had once made 169 not out.
122.
Ken Barrington was baptised in 1970 with Colin Cowdrey and Harry Secombe as the godfathers and Betty Surridge as the godmother.
123.
Ken Barrington managed the Derrick Robins XI tour of South Africa, a multiracial cricket team led by Brian Close and including Younis Ahmed, John Shepherd and Gordon Greenidge in an attempt to restore cricket links with South Africa.
124.
Ken Barrington managed another Derek Robins XI under David Lloyd the next year and although the cricket was a success they failed to re-establish international cricket in South Africa and the attempt to integrate cricket in South Africa failed.
125.
Doug Insole used his influence to have Ken Barrington join himself, Alec Bedser, Charlie Elliott and Sir Len Hutton as a selector for the Test and County Cricket Board, which chose the England cricket team.
126.
Ken Barrington diplomatically thanked the Indian Board for not finding anything averse and was criticised for not defending his players more, but as Lever said "if he had overreacted, the tour could have been called off".
127.
Tony Greig became a leading Packer recruiter and Ken Barrington was kept in the dark as he would have to report any such activity to the TCCB.
128.
Ironically, Ken Barrington secretly gathered guests for Greig's appearance on This Is Your Life on their return to England.
129.
Ken Barrington had long advocated the selection of his former teammate Geoff Boycott and after a three-year exile he was recalled to the England team with great success.
130.
Ken Barrington was chosen to manage the forthcoming tour of Pakistan in the first season of the WSC, both sides losing players as a result.
131.
Ken Barrington gave Edmonds long practise sessions in the nets to improve his spin bowling.
132.
Ken Barrington was out of his depth in these political matters, even though Willis later admitted that his determination for the Test to be played regardless was the right course.
133.
In New Zealand Ken Barrington saw that the training facilities and grounds were poor compared to those in England, but he praised the New Zealanders for their efforts.
134.
Ken Barrington was made his assistant-manager in charge of the cricket, in effect a team coach.
135.
Ken Barrington advocated Botham, who at the time averaged 40.48 with the bat and 18.52 with the ball and was England's golden boy.
136.
For financial reasons there was no assistant manager, but Ken Barrington was appointed after representations from the team, though Stuart Surridge asked him not to go as the strain would be too much.
137.
Ken Barrington was incredulous, and in another malapropism said, "The people wouldn't let old Forbes Burnham deprive them of their cricket: 10,000 to watch a practice match today; it could be a real evolution if he tried it".
138.
When Barrington had his second heart attack Ann quickly called the team physiotherapist Bernard Thomas from the next room and ran downstairs for help while he tried to resuscitate Ken.
139.
Ken Barrington found Alan Smith in the crowded lobby and they called for a doctor and an ambulance, but by the time they arrived Barrington was already dead.
140.
Ken Barrington was an England selector and assistant manager on the West Indies tour of 1981.
141.
Ken Barrington was cremated on 23 March 1981 in Leatherhead, Surrey and 150 wreaths were received, including one from each cricket county.
142.
The largest memorial to Ken Barrington is the Ken Barrington Indoor Cricket Centre at the Oval.
143.
Ken Barrington was a keen member of the Lord's Taverners and in his honour they named the Under-13 Competition winner's silver cup the "Ken Barrington Trophy".
144.
Ken Barrington Way is on the site of Courages Cricket Ground in Coley Park, whilst Ken Barrington Close is on the site of Church Road Cricket Ground in Earley.
145.
Thanks to his army upbringing Ken Barrington was very neat in his dress and carefully ironed and packed his clothes, and took great care of his cricket equipment.
146.
Ken Barrington rarely drank and preferred to retire early, especially on nights preceding match days.
147.
Ken Barrington was brought into cricket when social class and the hierarchy between amateur and professional was still the norm.
148.
Ken Barrington was always careful with his money and frequently called up the management of a hotel if the room was not up to standard and argued if they charged too much.
149.
Ken Barrington's batsmanship displayed different qualities which were not so glamorous, perhaps, but no less essential: determination, courage, application and overwhelming dedication to the task in hand.
150.
Ken Barrington started as a free-scoring off-side player, but, determined to regain his place in the England Test team, he opened his stance and became a defensive leg-side player.
151.
Ken Barrington was a great worrier and had trouble sleeping during a Test match or if he was not out overnight, which led in turn to exhaustion.
152.
Ken Barrington took his time walking out to the crease and once there he would inspect the pitch and subject it to "incessant prodding", and would hold up play if the captain changed the field so that he could inspect it.
153.
Ken Barrington was controversially dropped from the England team after 57 Tests for taking over seven hours to make 137 against a weak New Zealand attack in 1965.
154.
Ken Barrington's grimacing and nervous jump when receiving hostile fast bowling led some to believe that he was afraid, but he stood up to Wes Hall, Chester Watson, Charlie Griffith and Peter Pollock even when injured.
155.
Ken Barrington never lost his ability as a spinner, and it made him very effective against spin bowling, especially that of Benaud.
156.
Sometimes a keen batting partner would rush up the wicket only to find Ken Barrington waiting for him to scramble back.
157.
Ken Barrington's greatest strength was that he was a good tourist, averaging 69.18 in Tests abroad, though his home average of 50.71 was hardly negligible.
158.
Ken Barrington made 14 of his 20 Test hundreds in foreign fields, which led to his being appreciated overseas more than he was at home.
159.
Ken Barrington holds the record for facing the highest number of balls in a single test match when batting at number four in Test history.
160.
Ken Barrington's strengths were that he had toured these countries before, had contacts, a natural good humour and was an excellent ambassador for the game he loved.
161.
Ken Barrington made 20 Test centuries, two short of the then England record of 22 by Len Hutton.
162.
Ken Barrington made hundreds against all the Test teams of his era, but less than a third of them in England, which partially accounts for his greater reputation abroad than at home.