Montague Bennett

Montague Valentine Bennett (19 February 1912 – 17 December 1940) was an English cricketer. Bennett's batting style is unknown, though it is known he was a fast-medium bowler.

Born at Glentham, Lincolnshire, Bennett made his debut for Lincolnshire against the Warwickshire Second XI in the 1932 Minor Counties Championship, establishing himself as a regular in the Lincolnshire team in the following seasons.[1] He was selected to play for a combined Minor Counties cricket team in 1935 in a first-class match against Cambridge University at Fenner's.[2] In a match which Cambridge University won by 4 wickets, Bennett ended the Minor Counties first-innings unbeaten on 16, while in Cambridge University's first-innings he bowled nine wicketless overs, conceding 27 runs. Batting in the Minor Counties second-innings, he was dismissed for 6 runs by John Cameron, while in the university second-innings he took the wickets of Mark Tindall and Hugh Bartlett, to finish with figures of 2/27 from fourteen overs.[3] He continued to play minor counties cricket for Lincolnshire until 1939, making a total of 59 appearances for the county.[1]

Bennett served as an Ordinary Coder in the Royal Navy during World War II, and was killed aboard HMS Acheron after it struck a mine off of the coast of the Isle of Wight on the night of 17 December 1940.[4]