Kenny Burn – The man who became a Test cricketer by mistake

Kenny Burn made only 140 runs in eight FC games at an average of 9.33 prior to his Test debut.

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Kenny Burn made only 140 runs in eight FC games at an average of 9.33 prior to his Test debut.
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Left to right, back row: Hugh Trumble, Jack Blackham, Kenny Burn, Jack Barrett and HF Boyle in Ashes, 1890. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

Kenny Burn, born on 17th September 1862 represented Australia in two Test matches on the tour of England in 1890 in controversial circumstances. Burn, who hails from Tasmania, has made good runs in the Club Cricket in New Zealand but had minimal success in first-class cricket. Prior to his Test debut, Kenny made only 140 runs in eight FC games at an average of 9.33 with the best score of 26. However, he played Test cricket for Australia as a “specialist batsman” due to a mistake of identity.

Test debut due to a blunder

The former Test bowler Harry Boyle was named as the manager for the tour and would double up as a selector. While picking up the squad for the tour, there was a discussion for picking up the second wicketkeeper for the long tour. Jack Blackham remained as the first-choice keeper while the Victoria’s John Harry and NSW’s Sydney Deane stood in contention for being his deputy. Boyle went to Blackham for a discussion about their options.

But Blackham out of nowhere mentioned the name of Tasmania’s Kenny Burn as the keeper having heard a lot of good things about him. Boyle sent Burn an invitation to join the touring party on Blackham word. As the players of the touring party hail from different states, they did not jointly leave from one location. While some members of the team boarded the ship Liguria in Melbourne for its departure on March 14, other members of the side joined them later in Adelaide.

Late realization:

When the ship halted in Adelaide, Kenny dropped a bombshell saying that he never kept wickets in his entire life. It was later revealed that Blackham mistook Kenny Burn for his older relative James Burn. In fact, James was already a 40-year-old and never made an appearance in first-class cricket. His career was well spent as a wicketkeeper in club cricket. Having no other option, Blackham and Boyle played Burn as a specialist batsman with Blackham keeping in all the game of the tour.

Kenny Burn made his debut in the first Test at Lord’s and while the second match at The Oval turned out to be his last. The Tasmanian aggregated 41 runs across the four innings he batted in those two Tests with the best score of 19. Harry and Deane, who lost a chance to be a part of the squad, ended up having contrasting careers. John Harry made his Test debut in the home Ashes Test in 1894/95 while Sydney Deane never played first-class cricket after 1890 and went on to become a Hollywood actor.

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