Benjamin Arthur Barnett (23 March 1908 – 29 June 1979) was an Australian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er and sporting administrator. In a first-class cricket career lasting over 30 years, the pinnacle was appearing in four

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

appearances in 1938. After retiring from playing, he was an Australian representative on the

International Cricket Conference The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body was renamed as the Intern ...

(ICC) and served two years as president of the

International Lawn Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. there are 211 nati ...

Life and career

Barnett was educated at Scotch College in Melbourne. One of six siblings, he played cricket for Hawthorn-East Melbourne and Victoria during the 1920s and 1930s. He toured England as reserve

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

for the 1934 Australian Test team and his subsequent selection as principal wicket-keeper for the 1938 team attracted some controversy, other contenders being the ageing Bert Oldfield and the younger Don Tallon. Barnett played in all four Tests in the series.''The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket'', Oxford, Melbourne, 1996, p. 49. Barnett's cricket career was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when he volunteered for the army and served with 8th Divisional Signals in Singapore. When Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942, Barnett was incarcerated first in

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison complex in the namesake district of Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. It is the oldest and largest prison in the country, covering an area of about . Opened in 193 ...

and subsequently in Thailand on the railway. Acting as adjutant for 8th Div Sigs, Barnett maintained records which are now held in the Australian War Memorial (Canberra) and also the Signals Museum in Wantirna, Melbourne. After the war, Barnett settled in England with his wife Mollie and sons Ian and Ross. Working at the time for the Australian pharmaceutical firm Aspro-Nicholas, he played

Minor Counties The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

cricket for

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. At the age of 45, he captained the Commonwealth XI team that toured India in 1953-54. He played in 16 of the 21 first-class matches spread over four months, and played in all five of the matches against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He played numerous matches for Commonwealth XI teams in England between 1950 and his last first-class match in 1961, when he was 53. As an administrator he represented Australia in the UK for both cricket and tennis and was voted President of the

in 1969, a position he held for two years. He retired in 1974, and returned to Australia. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 1977 for service to sport. Barnett died in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

in 1979 at the age of 71.

References

External links

Cricinfo profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnett, Ben 1908 births 1979 deaths Australian cricketers Australia Test cricketers Victoria cricketers Commonwealth XI cricketers Buckinghamshire cricketers Australian expatriate cricketers in England Minor Counties cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Free Foresters cricketers North v South cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Buckinghamshire cricket captains Cricketers from Melbourne People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Australian Army personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Australian prisoners of war Members of the Order of Australia Wicket-keepers D. G. Bradman's XI cricketers Presidents of the International Tennis Federation 20th-century Australian sportsmen

Life and career

See also

References

External links