Described in one contemporary account as ‘a man of most genial and amiable disposition’, Benjamin Blackburn was a noted local amateur sportsman. Although he had two First-Class games for Nottinghamshire, his main cricket was played for the Meadow Willow and Nottingham Commercial clubs; he also played soccer for Castle and Trent Football Clubs and was a member of Nottingham Rowing Club.
His two games for the Notts first team were both in August 1879; in the first v Lancashire he scored 2 and 4no, in the second, against Kent, he made 0 in his only innings. Aptly – his middle name was Fielding – he caught one in each match.
Blackburn was a right-hand bat whose highest score that is available from the main archives was 35, made for Notts Castle v Bradford; although his bowling style is not recorded, he did take some wickets for the Castle team, notably three, and another catch, against Burnley.
Benjamin Fielding Blackburn was born 10 September 1855 in the Meadows area of Nottingham and died when a cold, contracted during a motoring excursion to Bournemouth, worsened and he succumbed to complications on 6 May 1907 in West Cliff, Bournemouth.
June 2020
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 166