Major-General James Spens (30 March 1853 — 19 August 1934) was a British Army officer and an English first-class cricketer. Spens began playing cricket whilst at school, and after joining the Army played at first-class level for Hampshire and the Marylebone Cricket Club in the 1880s and 1890s. He served with distinction during the Second Boer War and later commanded a military district in British India and a Territorial division in the United Kingdom. He retired shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, but returned to service to command the 12th (Eastern) Division, then a training depot and a military district in Egypt.
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Early military career and cricket
The son of the Royal Engineer James Spens senior, he was born in March 1853 at Sabathu in British India. He was educated in England at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, where he represented the college cricket team from 1868 to 1870. From there, he attended the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, graduating into the 85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers) as a sub-lieutenant in May 1872. Two years later in June 1874, he was promoted to lieutenant, antedated to the date of his initial commission. After joining the army, Spens played both cricket and rackets for army teams, including a match at Lord's in 1887. He was a high scorer, at one point in 1882 hitting 386 in a match. In rackets, he competed in the English Amateur Rackets Championships. His cricketing activities for the army were interrupted by military duties in 1879–80, when his regiment served in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Following the war, he was promoted to captain in July 1883, at which point he was serving with the King's Shropshire Light Infantry. A further promotion to major followed in April 1886, with Spens being appointed an instructor of tactics at Sandhurst in September of the same year.