# Benny Wilson

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**Benjamin Birdsall Wilson** (11 December 1879 – 14 September 1957) was an [English](/source/English_people) [first-class cricketer](/source/First-class_cricket), who played 185 games for [Yorkshire County Cricket Club](/source/Yorkshire_County_Cricket_Club) between 1906 and 1914.[1] Known as "Benny",[2] he was born in [Scarborough, Yorkshire](/source/Scarborough,_North_Yorkshire). He was a right-handed batsman who scored 8,053 first-class runs at 27.20, with a highest score of 208, one of four centuries he made against [Sussex](/source/Sussex_County_Cricket_Club).[1] He accumulated a total of fourteen centuries along with 35 fifties in his career, complemented by 53 catches in the field. Additionally, he achieved two first-class wickets at an average of 139.00 each.[1] He also played for the Yorkshire Second XI from 1902 to 1911, and for H. Hayley's XI in 1906.[citation needed]

## Playing career

Wilson played his early cricket in Scarborough before joining [Yorkshire](/source/Yorkshire_County_Cricket_Club), for whom he was a prolific scoring batsman from 1906 to 1914, though he scored slowly at times and was slow in the field. He possessed a strong defense and could hit hard without any pretense to style.[citation needed] After a modest start, he scored 109 at [Headingley](/source/Headingley_Cricket_Ground) against [Derbyshire](/source/Derbyshire_County_Cricket_Club) in his only innings of the 1908 season, and his extended trial in 1909 saw him finish fourth in Yorkshire's batting averages with a four-figure aggregate. He maintained his place as Yorkshire's opening batsman until the beginning of World War I in 1914, but left the county when hostilities ceased in 1919.[citation needed]

## Coaching career

Wilson became a [coach](/source/Coach_(sports)) and was with Pudsey Britannia Cricket Club until taking a position at [Harrow School](/source/Harrow_School) in 1921. He was at Harrow for eleven years and later coached at St Peter's School in [York](/source/York).[citation needed] In the late 1930s, he was in charge of coaching for Yorkshire at Headingley and one of his charges was the teenage [Jim Laker](/source/Jim_Laker), who was then a promising batsman and fast bowler. Wilson taught Laker how to [spin the ball](/source/Spin_bowling) and Laker developed this ability into a skill while he served in the [Army](/source/British_Army) during World War II.[2] After the war, Wilson coached in New Zealand for a time and later at Harrogate Cricket Club when he was over 70 years old.[citation needed]

## Personal details

Wilson died in September 1957 in [Harrogate](/source/Harrogate), Yorkshire. His son, [Ben Wilson](/source/Ben_Wilson_(English_cricketer)), played one match for [Warwickshire](/source/Warwickshire_County_Cricket_Club).[citation needed]

## References

1. Warner, David (2011). *The Yorkshire County Cricket Club: 2011 Yearbook*. 113th ed. Ilkley, Yorkshire: Great Northern Books. p. 382. ISBN 978-1-905080-85-4.

1. Hill, Alan (1998). *Jim Laker: A Biography*. London: Andre Deutsch Ltd. pp. 14–16. ISBN 978-02-33050-43-0.

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