Famous Cricketers No 67 - Ivo Bligh

Hon Ivo Bligh “At the present time it would be difficult to name an English sportsman of any kind more deservedly popular than the Hon. Ivo Francis Walter Bligh.” That was the opening sentence of an essay about Ivo Bligh published in the magazine Cricket on Friday March 16, 1883. Little could the writer realise that within a few months of that article, Ivo Bligh would have retired entirely from first-class cricket. The Hon. Ivo Francis Walter Bligh was born in Bruton St., Mayfair, London on March 13, 1859, the second son of the 6th Earl of Darnley. The Bligh family’s connection with Kent cricket goes back to the 18th century. The 4th Earl of Darnley and his brother, the Hon. Edward Bligh opened the batting for Kent against Hampshire at Lord’s in June 1790. According to the History of Kent County Cricket , edited by Lord Harris, the 4th Earl appeared in nine matches for the County between 1790 and 1796. He was born in Ireland on June 30, 1767, educated at Eton and Oxford, but no record of his cricket at either place could be found, and died at the family seat, Cobham Hall on March 17, 1831. His brother General the Hon. Edward Bligh was a much more noteworthy cricketer, though he played in only eleven Kent games spread between 1790 and 1806. In the days when centuries were a rarity, he scored 105 for MCC v Middlesex in 1797 and 132 v Bullingdon Club in 1796. In 1806 he appeared in the first two Gentlemen v Players matches, scoring 22, 15 and 3 in his three innings. Edward Bligh was born on September 19, 1769 and died on November 2, 1840. Two sons of the 5th Earl of Darnley played for Kent. The Hon. & Rev. Edward Vesey Bligh played for Oxford v Cambridge in 1850 and represented Kent in 23 matches between 1849 and 1864. He also appeared in one game for Middlesex in 1862. The other brother, the Hon. and Rev. Henry Bligh played once for Kent in 1854 and three times in 1860. He was a strong supporter of the Kent County Club which was formed at Maidstone in 1859 and was a founding member of the Committee. Moving to the generation that includes Ivo Bligh, two of his contemporaries in the family also represented Kent. Ivo Bligh’s eldest brother, Edward Henry Stuart, Lord Clifton, succeeded as the 7th Earl of Darnley on the death of his father in 1896. He was born at Cobham Hall in 1851 and appears in match scores as Lord Clifton. The 6th Earl did in fact appear in one important match - Gentlemen of Kent v Gentlemen of England during the 1848 Canterbury Festival, scoring 0 and 2. Lord Clifton had a much more distinguished cricket career than his father. He played in the Eton team v Harrow in 1869 and 1870, mainly as a fast round-arm bowler. He is amusingly described in Lillywhite’s Companion of 1871: “Lord Clifton, a fast slinging bowler, but too unsteady to excel; a hard hitter and useful bat in a style peculiar to himself.” The writer seems somewhat biased, since Lord Clifton was the leading Eton wicket-taker of that season with 37 wickets, ave 12.16, coming second in the averages, though he did manage a fair few wides in comparison with his fellow pupils. He appeared in six first-class matches for Kent and his final first-class game was for MCC in 1880. The other contemporary of Ivo Bligh was his cousin, four years his senior, Lodovick Edward Bligh, son of the Hon. & Rev. E.V.Bligh. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge, but failed to obtain a place in the XI at either. He did however appear in ten matches for Kent between 1878 and 1884, with modest results. As a club cricketer he appeared for the Band of Brothers, among other clubs and was most successful as a bowler. Given all the cricketing connections it is hardly surprising that Ivo Bligh, an all-round sportsman and athlete, was a success on the cricket field. George Bennett, who was born in the village of Shorne which was close by Cobham Hall, was a notable Kent all-rounder of his day and was employed by the 6th Earl of Darnley for some 25 years on the Cobham estate - one of his duties was to coach Ivo Bligh and his brothers. Ivo Bligh first came to public notice as a cricketer when, aged 16, he played for 3