The son of the curate of Sawston, Perkins was educated at Bury St Edmunds and at Trinity College, Cambridge.
[1] A lower-order, sometimes tail-end, right-handed batsman and a right-arm underarm lob bowler, his best bowling came in an 1862 Cambridgeshire match against Nottinghamshire, taking five second innings wickets (out of seven that fell) for just 48 runs.
At his retirement in 1898, when he was succeeded by Francis Lacey, he was voted an annual pension of £400 a year and given life membership.
[6] MCC membership doubled from 2,000 to 4,000 during his tenure, and he was also responsible for a written history of the club at its centenary in 1887.
[2] In 1855, Perkins married Blanche, daughter of Charles Fiddey; three of their sons also attended Cambridge University.