Joseph Bennett (cricketer, born 1881)

Joseph Henry Bennett (28 February 1881 – 29 August 1947) was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Canterbury from 1898 to 1920, and played several times for New Zealand in the days before New Zealand played Test cricket.

For the cricketer active in the 1860s, see Joseph Bennett (Victoria cricketer).
Joe Bennett
Joe Bennett in 1910
Personal information
Full nameJoseph Henry Bennett
Born(1881-02-28)28 February 1881
Christchurch, New Zealand
Died29 August 1947(1947-08-29) (aged 66)
Christchurch
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium pace
International information
National side
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1898-99 to 1919-20Canterbury
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 52
Runs scored 880
Batting average 11.73
100s/50s 0/2
Top score 58
Balls bowled 11,260
Wickets 241
Bowling average 18.55
5 wickets in innings 20
10 wickets in match 4
Best bowling 7/35
Catches/stumpings 15/0
Source: Cricket Archive, 24 September 2014

1898 to 1910

A medium-pace bowler, Joe Bennett made his first-class debut for Canterbury at the age of 17 in 1898-99, but did not establish himself in the side until 1904-05. In the first match of the 1904-05 season, against Wellington, he took 6 for 44 and 4 for 35 to help Canterbury to a 201-run victory.[1] In the next match a few days later he took 4 for 58 and 5 for 10 against Otago.[2] He was selected for the two matches New Zealand played against Australia later that season, but took only the wickets of Victor Trumper and Clem Hill at a cost of 156 runs from 33 overs.

In the second match in 1905-06 he took 5 for 52 and 5 for 34 in a 35-run victory over Wellington.[3] He finished the season as the highest wicket-taker in the country, with 22 wickets at an average of 12.13.[4] He was again the leading New Zealand bowler in 1906-07, with 31 wickets at 21.67.[5] In 1907-08, in the first-ever match for the Plunket Shield, he took 5 for 169 in Auckland's innings when Auckland beat Canterbury at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.[6] He was New Zealand's most successful bowler when Australia played two matches at the end of the 1909-10 season, taking eight wickets, though Australia won both matches easily.

1910 to 1920

At Lancaster Park in 1910-11 he bowled unchanged throughout the match to take 5 for 9 (figures of 9–5–9–5) and 7 for 35 to dismiss Wellington for 52 and 60 and give Canterbury victory by 322 runs.[7] He helped Canterbury to an innings victory in the final match of the Plunket Shield in 1913-14 by scoring 58 at number ten and taking 4 for 48 and 7 for 87. Ten of his victims were bowled.[8] He toured Australia with a New Zealand side shortly afterwards, taking eight wickets in the four matches against state teams. When Australia in turn toured New Zealand shortly afterwards, Bennett was playing for Canterbury when Victor Trumper and Arthur Sims added 433 runs in 190 minutes, a world record for the eighth wicket that still stands. Bennett was the only Canterbury bowler to keep the batsmen in check, even bowling a maiden at one stage during the whirlwind partnership. He finished with 5 for 179 off 56 overs.[9]

He was the highest wicket-taker in the Plunket Shield in the seasons before World War I, with 52 wickets at an average of 19.65.[10]

He served overseas with the Army in World War I.[11] He played one final match for Canterbury in 1920.

Dick Brittenden said Bennett was "one of the finest length bowlers New Zealand has known", who could "bowl hours on end without sending down a loose one ... doing just a little off the pitch most of the time".[12]

References
  1. Canterbury v Wellington 1904-05
  2. Otago v Canterbury 1904-05
  3. Wellington v Canterbury 1905-06
  4. 1905-06 bowling by average
  5. 1906-07 bowling by average
  6. Canterbury v Auckland 1907-08
  7. Canterbury v Wellington 1910-11
  8. Otago v Canterbury 1913-14
  9. R.T. Brittenden, Great Days in New Zealand Cricket, A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1958, Chapter 5, "The Young Vic", p. 43.
  10. Dominion, 21 January 1919, p. 6.
  11. Cenotaph Record, Joseph Henry Bennett
  12. Brittenden, Great Days in New Zealand Cricket, pp. 39-44.
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