Francis MacKinnon
Encyclopedia
Francis Alexander MacKinnon, The 35th MacKinnon of MacKinnon (9 April 1848 - 27 February 1947) was the longest-lived Test
cricket
er until being surpassed by Eric Tindill
of New Zealand on 8 November 2009. MacKinnon, who was 98 years, 324 days old when he died, was the oldest-ever first-class cricket
er at that time.
MacKinnon was born at Acryse Park, near Folkestone
in Kent
, and was educated at Harrow School
. An amateur cricketer, he joined the MCC
in 1870, and played first-class cricket from 1870 to 1885.
He attended St John's College, Cambridge
, graduating in 1871. He played cricket for Cambridge University
, winning his blue in 1870. He played in the famous University match
in 1870, known as Cobden's Match, in which Cambridge's Frank Cobden
conceded only one run and took three wickets in the last four-ball over to win the match by two runs.
MacKinnon played for Kent
from 1875. He toured Australia
with Lord Harris in 1878-79, and played his only Test on this tour, making 0 and 5 in his two innings, bowled by Fred Spofforth
twice. His first dismissal was the second in the first Test hat-trick
. He was president of Kent in 1889.
In 1888, MacKinnon married the Hon. Emily Hood. They had one son and one daughter together. His wife died in 1934.
He was a Captain in the Royal Kent Yeomanry from 1871 to 1893, promoted to Honorary Major in 1886. He was a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Kent from 1900 to 1902. On the death of his father in 1903, he became The MacKinnon of Mackinnon, the 35th Chief of the Mackinnon Clan.
He died at his home, Drumduan, in Forres
, Morayshire, Scotland
.
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er until being surpassed by Eric Tindill
Eric Tindill
Eric William Thomas Tindill was a New Zealand sportsman. Tindill held a number of unique records: he was the oldest ever Test cricketer at the time of his death, the only person to play Tests for New Zealand in both cricket and rugby union , and the only person ever to play Tests in both sports,...
of New Zealand on 8 November 2009. MacKinnon, who was 98 years, 324 days old when he died, was the oldest-ever first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
er at that time.
MacKinnon was born at Acryse Park, near Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and was educated at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
. An amateur cricketer, he joined the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
in 1870, and played first-class cricket from 1870 to 1885.
He attended St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, graduating in 1871. He played cricket for Cambridge University
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
, winning his blue in 1870. He played in the famous University match
The University Match (cricket)
The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club...
in 1870, known as Cobden's Match, in which Cambridge's Frank Cobden
Frank Cobden
Frank Carroll Cobden was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University and the MCC. In the University Match of 1870 he famously took a hat-trick comprising the last three Oxford University batsmen when Oxford required only three more runs to win...
conceded only one run and took three wickets in the last four-ball over to win the match by two runs.
MacKinnon played for Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
from 1875. He toured Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
with Lord Harris in 1878-79, and played his only Test on this tour, making 0 and 5 in his two innings, bowled by Fred Spofforth
Fred Spofforth
Frederick Robert "Fred" Spofforth , also known as "The Demon Bowler", was arguably the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century and was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the first to take a test hat-trick in 1879...
twice. His first dismissal was the second in the first Test hat-trick
Test cricket hat-tricks
This is a list of all hat-tricks in Test cricket; that is, the occasions when a bowler has taken three wickets in consecutive deliveries in Test cricket matches. As of 30 July 2011, a hat-trick has been taken 39 times since the first Test match in 1877, most recently by English fast-medium bowler...
. He was president of Kent in 1889.
In 1888, MacKinnon married the Hon. Emily Hood. They had one son and one daughter together. His wife died in 1934.
He was a Captain in the Royal Kent Yeomanry from 1871 to 1893, promoted to Honorary Major in 1886. He was a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Kent from 1900 to 1902. On the death of his father in 1903, he became The MacKinnon of Mackinnon, the 35th Chief of the Mackinnon Clan.
He died at his home, Drumduan, in Forres
Forres
Forres , is a town and former royal burgh situated in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately 30 miles east of Inverness. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions...
, Morayshire, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.