17 Facts About Ken Cranston

Kenneth Cranston was an English amateur cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and eight times for England, in 1947 and 1948.

Ken Cranston retired from playing cricket to concentrate on his career as a dentist.

Cranston was born in Aigburth, Liverpool, where his father Henry Selby Cranston was a dentist.

Ken Cranston played for the Lancashire Second XI in the Minor Counties Championship before World War II.

Ken Cranston served as a dental officer in the Royal Navy during the war.

Ken Cranston played cricket for the Royal Navy and Combined Services, and played club cricket in Lancashire after the war.

Ken Cranston was appointed captain of Lancashire in 1947, replacing acting captain Jack Fallows.

Ken Cranston was an all-rounder who bowled fast-medium and batted in the middle of the batting order.

Ken Cranston captained England once, in the first Test against the West Indies at Bridgetown, as Gubby Allen had pulled a muscle on board the boat carrying them there.

Ken Cranston was dropped from the Test side at the start of the following summer, but played one final Test later in 1948, when he was selected for the Fourth Test in the Ashes series against Australia's Invincibles, in which the tourists scored 404 on the final day to win the match.

Ken Cranston led Lancashire to third place in the County Championship in 1947, with the team losing only one match.

Ken Cranston himself scored over 1,000 runs in each year, and took 84 and then 79 wickets.

Ken Cranston played in two Gentlemen v Players matches in 1947, at Lord's and Scarborough, and again at Lord's in 1948.

Ken Cranston resigned as captain of Lancashire at the end of his second season to concentrate on his dental practice in Liverpool.

Ken Cranston played for the North of England against the South in 1947,1949 and 1950, and played his last first-class match in 1950.

Ken Cranston married Joanne Legg later that year; they had a son.

Ken Cranston became the oldest living former English Test cricketer on 28 December 2006, on the death of Norman 'Mandy' Mitchell-Innes.