Kenneth Cranston, who died on 8 January 2007, aged 89, once decided to spend six months playing first class cricket, and performed so well that within three months he was playing for England, and within nine months was captain of his country.

Born in Aigburth, Liverpool on 20 October 1917, Ken attended Liverpool College where he excelled at sport, particularly cricket and hockey. He once scored 289 in three hours as a schoolboy playing for Liverpool Pilgrims at Eastbourne.

After leaving school he became an undergraduate at the Dental School, Liverpool University. Continuing to play cricket, he scored a century for Lancashire second team against Yorkshire. Harry Makepeace, the coach at Old Trafford and a man not given to exaggeration, rated Cranston as the best talent he ever taught.

Graduating BDS in 1940, Ken's sporting career was, along with many others, interrupted during his potentially best years by the war when he served as a dental officer in the Royal Navy.

Afterwards, Ken decided in 1947 to take a sabbatical from dentistry and play cricket for Lancashire. Following a reorganisation at Old Trafford he was immediately appointed county captain and had a brilliant season culminating in being selected for England in the third Test Match against South Africa. He demolished South Africa at Headingly with his fast medium bowling taking four wickets in six balls. This secured his selection as Vice Captain for the MCC tour to West Indies that winter under the captaincy of 'Gubby' Allen. Allen was injured and Cranston captained England in the first test match drawn. His personal highlight was taking 4 for 79 in the fourth test at Georgetown, including the wickets of Walcott and Weeks who were becoming world renowned.

Cranston continued to captain Lancashire in 1948, scoring 1,228 runs and taking 83 wickets. He was perhaps unfortunate to be recalled to the England team to play the all powerful Australians when England lost by seven wickets. Ken's recounted memory of the game was the Australian captain, Don Bradman, who had poor teeth, anxiously seeking professional advice from Cranston in the dressing room!

Having retired from regular first class cricket at the end of 1948 he, as promised, returned to dentistry, joining his father's practice in Aigburth where he practised until retirement in 1990. During the 1950s he played club cricket and county hockey for Lancashire, and was elected a member of Styx Hockey Club. During that time he played occasional matches for Lancashire, once scoring a memorable 156, his highest first class score, against the county champions Yorkshire at the Scarborough Festival.

Ken Cranston was elected President of Lancashire County Cricket Club in 1993-4.

He married firstly Mary Harrison in 1942 (dissolved in 1964) and they had a son and a daughter, and secondly Joanne Legg in 1964 with whom he had a son.

Ken Cranston is the only dentist to captain England and the MCC.

While several dentists have experienced playing first class cricket, Ken Cranston is the only dentist to captain England and the MCC.