Longfield was born at High Halstow in Kent and educated at Aldenham School where he played in the cricket XI.[3] He went to Cambridge University and won cricket Blues in 1927 and 1928,[3] making a total of 25 first-class appearances for the University side. He made his Kent debut in the 1927 University vacation and went on to play a total of 40 times for the county First XI, playing his last county match in 1939.[4]
In his Wisden obituary, Longfield was described as having been "an orthodox, old-fashioned medium-pace bowler" who "possessed a beautiful action, kept a good length, and could move the ball both ways".[3] He was third in the Cambridge bowling averages in 1927 taking 46 wickets, followed by 44 in 1928, although for Kent he was "curiously ineffective" as a bowler.[3] As a batsman he scored two centuries for Cambridge, the only first-class hundreds he scored, and was described as "a good stroke-player who could score quickly, mostly in front of the wicket" who went on to play "some useful innings" for Kent. He was second in the Cambridge batting averages in 1927.[3]
Longfield's daughter Susan, who was born in Calcutta whilst Longfield worked in India and was a successful model, married Ted Dexter in 1959. He later captained the England cricket team.[7] His brother, Geoffrey Longfield, played two first-class matches for the RAF. Longfield died at Ealing in Middlesex in 1981 aged 75.[1]