[1][2] One of 15 children of Sir John and his wife Lady Harriet Lubbock, he was educated at Eton College.
[2] In club cricket Lubbock played for a wide variety of sides, including Eton Ramblers, of which he was a founder with seven others in 1862,[7] the Gentlemen of West Kent, Band of Brothers and I Zingari.
[3] Pardon believed him to have been "one of the greatest batsmen" of his era who had "threatened to be WG Grace's most formidable rival".
[3] Lubbock also played football and appeared for Old Etonians in the replay of the 1875 FA Cup Final against the Royal Engineers, one of the dominant teams of the day.
The first match had finished 1–1, but several Old Etonians were unable to play in the replay at The Oval and Lubbock was called in as a replacement.