Famous Cricketers No 63 - A.O.Jones

Arthur Owen opened with Arthur Shrewsbury and the two of them put on over 50 in each innings. They added 83 runs in the first innings and 55 in the second. Despite these good starts, Nottinghamshire lost because they could not put on any other stand above 30. In the away debacle against Gloucestershire, Arthur Owen made the highest Nottinghamshire score in each innings. W.G.Grace scored a majestic century and C.L.Townsend took 13 wickets in the match. A.O. was the only Nottinghamshire batsman to reach double figures on both occasions and made the second highest score of the match. In the second innings, he and J.A.Dixon scored 65 of the 99-run total. His season for Nottinghamshire finished in good style. In the penultimate match, against Lancashire, he made over 50 in each innings and took another 4 wickets. In the first innings, he put on 68 runs with Arthur Shrewsbury, the 50 coming up in 40 minutes. Jones scored 50 of the first 84 runs in 85 minutes. In the second he made 87 for the 4th wicket with J.A.Dixon. Jones batted for just over two hours, was missed behind at 27 and hit 7 fours. Nottinghamshire, without some of their best players, lost by ten wickets, Archie MacLaren making 152. The final match, which was against Kent, ended in a draw. A.O. again scored over 50 in each innings. He opened the batting with Arthur Shrewsbury on both occasions. They put on 97 runs together in the first innings, in 80 minutes. They shared an unbroken stand of 96 in the second. Jones survived an appeal for caught behind off the first ball and 15 minutes later had 20 runs on the board, out of 29. Most of his runs came through straight driving on either side of the bowler. Wisden comments that Arthur Owen finished “the season in finer form than he had ever shown before.” Rain ruined any prospect of a finish. Wisden says of him that he was “the smartest and safest field in the team.” Despite the fact that Nottinghamshire had a poor season, A.O. was invited to play in the third match of the Scarborough Festival. He played for An England XI v A Yorkshire XI and this was his first appearance for a side other than his University or his County. The start of this match was delayed by rain. A section of the crowd barracked the visiting captain, H.T.Hewett, so vociferously that he withdrew from the match at lunch time and the captaincy was assumed by F.R.Spofforth. In a low scoring match, which only lasted two days, Arthur Owen had the satisfaction of being at the wicket when the winning run was made. He made 32 of the 42 required in a little more than 12 overs. Early in 1896, Arthur Owen played in one football match for Notts County, possibly a friendly, and scored a hat-trick. This is quoted in several sources but they omit vital details such as date, venue, result and opponents. It was at about this time, when her youngest son had left school, that his mother moved to The Cottage in Market Bosworth. Arthur Owen also lived there, apart from his time at Oakham School, until he married in 1903. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 36. Nottinghamshire v MCC, Lord’s, May 1, 2 (MCC won by 37 runs) b F.Martin 0 58 72 b A.Woodcock 11 65 84 1 37. Nottinghamshire v Sussex, Trent Bridge, May 16, 17, 18 (Nottinghamshire won by an innings and 378 runs) b F.W.Tate 3 726 170 1 178 1 38. Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire, Grace Road, Leicester, May 20, 21 (Leicestershire won by 79 runs) b A.D.Pougher 6 91 205 1 c A.D.Pougher b A.Woodcock 7 126 91 1 39. Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire, Trent Bridge, May 23, 24, 25 (Match drawn) c J.T.Mounsey b G.H.Hirst 3 209 237 3 b R.Moorhouse 67 279-4 312-8d 1 40. Nottinghamshire v Surrey, Trent Bridge, June 3, 4, 5 (Surrey won by nine wickets) c H.Wood b T.Richardson 11 162 306 3 b T.W.Hayward 21 201 59-1 14