Henry Tufton, 11th Earl of Thanet

Henry James Tufton, 11th Earl of Thanet (2 January 1775 – 12 June 1849) was a peer in the peerage of England and a noted English cricketer of the 1790s.

Henry Tufton belonged to an aristocratic family that was prominent in cricketing and other sporting circles. His parents were Sackville Tufton, 8th Earl of Thanet (1733–1786), and Mary Sackville (1746–1778), who was the daughter of Lord John Philip Sackville and the sister of John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset. Sackville and Dorset were famous patrons of Kent cricket. One of Tufton's older brothers was the Honourable John Tufton (1773–1799), who was also a noted amateur cricketer. Henry Tufton succeeded his elder brother Charles Tufton, 10th Earl of Thanet as 11th Earl of Thanet in April 1832. He served as hereditary High Sheriff of Westmorland from 1832 until his own death. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester 1796–1802, for Appleby 1826–1832. He was Lord Lieutenant of Kent 1841-1846.[1]

Tufton was a wicketkeeper-batsman who is believed to have been right-handed and made his debut in important matches for Surrey and Sussex in a game against All-England at the original Lord's Cricket Ground in June 1793. Arthur Haygarth in Scores and Biographies said of Tufton that he "was a successful batsman and wicket-keeper during his short career, which terminated when he was only twenty-six years of age. In the match between the Marylebone Club against the Thursday and Montpelier on 13 July 1796, he stumped six and caught two". In all, Henry Tufton played in 77 important matches until July 1801. His final game was for MCC versus Homerton Cricket Club at the original Lord's Cricket Ground.

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