Famous Cricketers No 1 - Jack Hobbs

AUTHOR’S FOREWORD to Second Edition Sir John Berry (Jack) Hobbs was the first subject in the Famous Cricketers Series published by the ACS. The author of the book, now out of print, was my brother, the late Derek Lodge, who was a Committee Member for many years. He was subsequently responsible for developing the style for the current books in the series, which is considerably more expansive than the original book. The foreword to the first edition is included below. AUTHOR’S FOREWORD to First Edition Jack Hobbs was a legendary figure well before the end of his long playing career. Four years after his first Test, he was generally acknowledged to be the leading batsman in England, and possibly in the world; and in the 1920’s he symbolised cricket to the man in the street in a way that perhaps only W.G.Grace and Sir Donald Bradman have done. What was the nature of the Hobbs legend? He was seen as a gentle, kindly family man, without an enemy in the world, who just happened to play an extremely difficult game rather better than anyone else around. Hobbs was undoubtedly an extremely pleasant person, but it would be a mistake to assume from this that he was unambitious or unassertive; still more would it be a mistake to assume that his cricket had no cutting edge. Nobody could have achieved his figures by playing at, rather than playing, the game. I am sure that Hobbs went on to the field in almost every match with the firm intention of mastering the bowlers; that he did not dance on them when they were down is another matter. His figures simply brook no argument. His achievements can be divided into two categories – those of sheer quantity, and those of consistency. In quantitative terms, it is well known that he made more runs in first-class cricket than any other batsman, and unless the pattern of the game changes radically, his aggregate will never be surpassed. His total number of runs was recorded as 61,221 for many years until another innings was discovered and the figure became 61,237. Since then, two innings he played in South Africa have been ruled not to be first-class, and the generally accepted figure is 61,167. There is some dispute about his 1930-31 figures in India, and some historians, of whom I am one, would add the 593 he scored in that season. No matter, he is well ahead of all others, with or without those 593 runs. Similarly, his 197 (or 199) centuries far outshine all others. He himself is said to have much regretted not making it 200, and if things had gone better for him, he would no doubt have done so – if, for example, he had not missed practically all the 1921 season, or if he had played a few more games against the Universities… At the highest level, Hobbs’ figures are even more impressive. He scored more runs against Australia (3,636) than any other player, and made 12 centuries against the oldest foe. Sir Donald Bradman exceeded both his aggregate and his number of centuries in Anglo-Australian matches, but he is outside every normal calculation. Hobbs’ figures are even more remarkable when one considers that all but seven of the Tests he played in England were restricted to three days, and that he missed a whole season, in 1921, when he was in his prime. In the matter of consistency, Hobbs stands alone (among Englishmen). He scored 50 or more in 467 of his 1,313 innings (omitting the Indian matches) and only Bradman has done better than this in a career of any length. He averaged 50 or more in every post-war season but one, and in three tours of Australia during the same period. He was dismissed 95 times in Tests, but only 12 times in single figures. That may not sound very impressive, but it must be remembered that every batsman is at his most vulnerable before he has scored, and that even Bradman made 14 single-figure scores, including seven ducks, in 70 dismissals. (Hammond made 24 single-figure scores in 124 completed innings). 5