Frederick Charles Benham (18 December 1903 — 29 November 1985) was an English-born Scottish first-class cricketer and groundskeeper.

Fred Benham
Personal information
Full name
Frederick Charles Benham
Born18 December 1903
Bexley, Kent, England
Died29 November 1985(1985-11-29) (aged 81)
Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland
BattingRight-handed
RelationsCharles Benham (father)
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1949Scotland
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 1
Runs scored 9
Batting average 9.00
100s/50s –/–
Top score 9
Catches/stumpings –/–
Source: Cricinfo, 29 July 2022

The son of the cricketer Charles Benham, he was born at Bexley in December 1903. He moved to Scotland as a young child, when his father's career as a professional cricketer took him there. Benham was offered a trial by Kent County Cricket Club in 1932, but turned down the offer to remain in Scotland playing club cricket for West Lothian.[1] He played for West Lothian throughout the 1920s and 1930s, during which time he broke his leg while playing in a charity football match in 1934.[2] He continued his association with the club following the Second World War. Benham made a single appearance in first-class cricket for Scotland against Yorkshire at Hull during Scotland's 1949 tour of England.[3] Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed for 9 runs in the Scottish first innings by Ellis Robinson, while in their second innings he ended the Scottish innings not out on 0, with the match ending in a draw.[4] He later coached West Lothian in the 1970s.[5] Outside of playing, Benham was a groundsman, where he was credited with keeping the wicket at Linlithgow as one of the best in Scotland.[6] He died at Bangour General Hospital in November 1985.

References

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  1. ^ County Cricket Changes. Dundee Courier. 19 April 1932. p. 4
  2. ^ Unfortunate football accident. Coatbridge Leader. 12 May 1934. p. 4
  3. ^ "First-Class Matches played by Arthur Sellers". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Yorkshire v Scotland, 1949". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  5. ^ Consistency. West Lothian Courier. 19 October 1973. p. 24
  6. ^ Brighter cricket plan. West Lothian Courier. 25 February 1966. p. 21
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