Cricket 1901

CRICKET, NOVEMBER 23, 1901. “ Together joined in Cricket’s manly toil.”— Byron. No. 588. VOL. XX. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1901. p r ic e 2d. OBITUARY. JOHN JACKSON. Although thirty-five years have passed away since John Jackson played his last match for Nottinghamshire, it may pos­ sibly come as a surprise to many to learn that the deceased, at the time of his death, on the 4th inst., was only sixty- eight years of age. Though but a name to the present generation, Jackson appears to have been better remem­ bered by enthusiasts of the game than many of his companions who occupied as prominent a position in the public eye ashe did. The sight of Jackson bowling in his mightiest form made a far deeper impression on the average mind than a long innings by Parr or Daft or any other great batsman of the period. There was something in his bowling which compelled admiration. He had abeauti­ ful delivery, scrupulously fair, and never seemed to tire. He was a man of splendid physique, was over six feet in height, and pos­ sessed the strength of a giant. On a bumpy wicket it required a batsman with a considerable amount of courage to face his terrific deliveries. A.t times, when assisting the All-England Eleven against local eight- eens and twenty-twos, he was terribly effective, and obtained an enormous num­ ber of wickets. One of his best performances in such cricket wes against Twenty- two of Uppingham in 1857, when he obtained six wickets in seven balls, claiming in the match twenty-five wickets for thirty-seven runs ! As Bickley bowled at the other end, it is not surprising that there were twenty-two “ ducks” in the forty- four innings, and that only oneplayer suc­ ceeded in obtaining more runs than six. For the England Eleven against X X II. of Cornwall, at Eedruth, in 1859, he bowled 49 balls for one run and ten wickets? Many players trembled in their shoes when called upon to face Jackson, owing to his tremendous speed, and several were virtually dismissed before reaching the wicket. Many tales are told of the woes—and 0’s—resulting from standing up to “ the Demon.” One person, with a poetical (?) turn of mind, in describing an over he received, gave birth to the following lines:— “ The first ball hit me on the hand, The next I played in doubt; The third hall smashed my finger, And the fourth ball bowled me out! ” The Pride of the Village, in Puncht after enjoying “ a hover from Jackson,” is made to say:—“ The first ’ad me on the knee, the next on the wrist, the next blacked my eye, and the fourth bowled me.” It was, it is believed," in connection with Jackson that the’ s‘ ory was first told of the unhappy] batsman, who, being told he was not out on being seen limping from the wicket after playing one of Jack­ son’s deliveries with his ankle, replied, “ N o; but I ’m g oing! ” The tale, however, like many another, is resuscitated whenever a fa v o u ra b le o p p o rtu n ity occurs of fostering it upon some person other than the original. Jackson had a peculiar habitof blowing his nose with a loud report whenever he took a wicket, and, on this account, was nicknamed “ the fog-horn” by Robert Carpenter. With Jackson bowling his hardest and fastest at one wicket, and Chris. Tinley delivering his seductive underhands from the other, even the best batsmen found runs terribly hard to get. On several occasions have the two famous bowlers carried all before them, and practi­ cally won the match single- handed. One gentleman, speaking from experience, expressed the matter neatly when he asked, “ What can a man do with a thunder­ bolt at one end and a corkscrew at the other ? ” A lth o u g h J a c k s o n ’ s greatest feats with the ball in minor matches have never been surpassed, and prob­ ably never willbe, it is owing to his wonderful per­ formances in the great matches of the day that he will be chiefly remembered. His first match for Nottinghamshire waa against “ Six of Kent and Five of Eng­ land,” at Trent Bridge in 1855, and his last against Yorkshire, also at Trent Bridge, in 1866. His great bowling feats, and they were many, were thus crowded into one glorious decade. Had he not CBICKET.—THE PRIDE OF THE VILLAGE. “ Good match, old fellow?” “ Oh yes ; awfully jolly !” “ What did you d o?” “ I ’ad a hover of Jackson; the first ball ’it me on the ’and, the second ’ad me on_the knee,.the third was.in my eye, and the.fourth bowled me out.” Jolly game. (ReproducedJby kindpermission o f the'Proprietors o f “ Punch” )