Edward Kenney (cricketer)

Edward Maxwell Kenney (10 December 1845 – 24 January 1916) was an English first-class cricketer and educator.

The son of The Reverend Arthur Robert Kenney,[1] he was born in December 1845 at Bourton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire. He was educated at Rugby School,[2] before going up to Merton College, Oxford in 1864, from which he transferred to Charsley's Hall, Oxford.[3] While studying at Oxford, he played first-class cricket for Oxford University, making his debut at Oxford against Southgate in 1865. Kenney played first-class cricket for Oxford until 1868, making seventeen appearances.[4] All all-rounder, who bowled left-arm roundarm fast,[5] Kenney took 66 wickets for Oxford at an average of 15.05.[6] In three appearances against Cambridge in The University Match, he took 22 wickets; his career best figures came in the 1866 fixture, where he took 6 for 51 in the Cambridge first innings and 8 for 68 in their second.[5] Described by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack as a right-handed batsman who was a “good and free hitter”,[5] he scored 204 runs at an average of 9.27. He recorded one score of over fifty,[7] making 64 runs against Surrey while batting at number ten.[8]

After graduating from Oxford, Kenney became a schoolteacher and was for some time an assistant master at Bromsgrove School.[3] He was appointed an H. M. Inspector of Schools in 1874. He added Herbert to his surname in 1875, becoming known as Edward Maxwell Kenney-Herbert. He was elected a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1882 and was also a member of the Free Foresters.[5] In 1901, Kenney was appointed to be a chief inspector for the Board of Education, in addition to being a justice of the peace for Buckinghamshire.[2] He died at Ealing in January 1916, a little under two months before the death of his brother, Arthur Robert Kenney-Herbert.[5]