Description
Teddington, Middlesex born Harry Chinnery was stylish batsman and useful fielder who was in the Eton XI in 1894 and 1895, topping the averages in his final season. In the annual match against Harrow he scored 75 and 64. In 1897 he played regularly for Surrey, scoring 761 runs including 149 against Warwickshire. He was admitted to the Stock Exchange in 1898 and so only played a handful of representative matches in 1898 and then between 1899 and 1902 he appeared irregularly for Middlesex.
In 1901 he opened the season with 105 and 165 (his highest career score) for M.C.C. against Oxford University and later made 100 for Middlesex against Gloucestershire. In 1904 he was back at Surrey for his final Championship matches where he captained the County. He carried on playing first class cricket until 1910, mainly for the Gentlemen of England. Wisden noted that his “early retirement was much to be regretted, but he continued to assist the Eton Ramblers and I Zingari”. During a 66 first class match career, Chinnery scored 2,536 runs at an average of 24.86 with four hundreds and as a slow left-arm bowler he took 12 wickets with a best performance of 4-51.
Lieutenant Harry Chinnery was killed while serving with the King’s Royal Rifles at Monchy-le-Preux in France in May 1916.
He was a son of Walter Chinnery, a champion mile runner in the early days of amateur athletics.
His brother Esmé Chinnery also played first class cricket for Surrey, playing one match and making 47 runs in his only innings in 1906. He was also killed in France during the First World War, losing his life in 1915.