Donald Kenyon (15 May 1924 – 12 November 1996) was an English

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er, who played in eight

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for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

from 1951 to 1955. He captained

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

between 1959 and 1967. Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "A polished batsman who relished taking on fast bowlers, he became the heaviest scorer in Worcestershire's history with more than 37,000 first-class runs to his credit".

Life and career

Kenyon was born in

Wordsley Wordsley is a suburban area of Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England. It is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and falls into the Stourbridge (DY8) postcode and address area, being just north of the River Stour. Wordsley is part of the ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

on 15 May 1924, and lived most of his adult life in nearby

Wollaston, West Midlands Wollaston is a village on the outskirts of Stourbridge in the English West Midlands. It is located in the south of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, one mile from Stourbridge town centre. History Until 1974 when the West Midlands Metropolitan ...

. He played all his

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for Worcestershire, but when international opportunities came along, Kenyon was unable to produce his run-making abilities on the highest stage. He fell in single figures in eleven of his fifteen England innings, although his Test career was rather sporadic in nature. Kenyon played three Tests on the 1951/52 tour to

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, two more in 1953, with three more appearances in 1955, but life in the fast lane did not seem to suit his temperament. He was a popular and successful captain of his county, and went on in his later life to become an England Test selector, and president of his beloved county side. Kenyon died in November 1996, in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

, at the age of 72.

References

1924 births 1996 deaths England Test cricketers English cricketers Worcestershire cricketers Worcestershire cricket captains Combined Services cricketers Royal Air Force cricketers International Cavaliers cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year England cricket team selectors Players cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers North v South cricketers 20th-century British businesspeople {{England-cricket-bio-1920s-stub