Famous Cricketers No 63 - A.O.Jones

fours. This was his first century while batting at number one. Shrewsbury and Jones batted at 5 and 6 respectively in the second innings and put on 67 for the 5th wicket. Surrey were set 109 to win but were restricted by the accurate bowling to 88 from 35 overs by the end of play. His wonderful form this season meant that Arthur Owen was called into the England side against Australia, for the fifth Test, at the Oval.Australia had won the Lord’s Test and the others had been drawn. Archie MacLaren, the England captain, won the toss and decided the best strategy was for his team to make a high score as quickly as possible. At the end of the first day, England were 435 for 4 with F.S.Jackson and T.W.Hayward making centuries, K.S.Ranjitsipnhji and C.B.Fry having passed 50 and MacLaren being out for 49. The fast scoring requirement continued on the second day and Arthur Owen, batting at No. 9 made 31 quick runs in a total of 576. By the close of play, Australia were 220 for 5 wickets with Syd Gregory on his way to a century. A.O. had taken two of the wickets, having accounted for Hugh Trumble and Victor Trumper. Test matches only lasted three days so despite Australia being asked to follow on, the final Test was a draw, with the tourists on 254 for 5. The history of Test cricket is littered with the names of those who excelled in the county game but who, for one reason or another, have not fulfilled the promise when representing their country. Arthur Owen was one such. It is doubtful if the thought occurred to him that he had just made his highest Test score in England. Arthur Owen did not enjoy much success against Yorkshire but he made 51 against them in his next match and shared a 4th wicket stand of 65 with William Gunn. Besides this, he took 4 wickets which included having George Hirst stumped and bowling Lord Hawke with a yorker. In the match against Derbyshire he had a first wicket stand of 77 with Shrewsbury and took 5 wickets in an innings for the only time that season. Derbyshire followed on but Notts did not have the bowling to win by an innings and the match, like so many others, was drawn. In his last county match of the year, Arthur Owen made 117 against Middlesex and had a second wicket partnership of 150 with William Gunn. Jones made 50 out of 100 runs in 85 minutes and was out after three hours with the score on 223. Most of his scoring shots were drives or cuts. Because of his onslaught, A.E.Trott and J.T.Hearne were taken off. They might otherwise have bowled unchanged through the innings. C.M.Wells made 244, the highest score against Nottinghamshire. Wells also took nine wickets in the match. In the second innings Jones opened with G.J.Groves and made 42 out of a stand of 69. Wells bowled to good effect and Middlesex won. For his last match, he was invited to play for C.I.Thornton’s XI against Yorkshire. Despite being on the losing side, he acquitted himself well in the second innings. He took 3 wickets and his century was made without fault in even time, containing 2 driven sixes, a five and 12 fours. This was the first time he had scored more than one century in a season and his score at Bristol had impressed many people outside his county. As a result of his splendid batting throughout the season, Wisden chose him as one of the Five Cricketers of the Year. He was in exalted company for three of the others were members of the Australian touring team, Joe Darling, Monty Noble and Clem Hill. The other cricketer selected was Major R.M.Poore who scored seven centuries in the season for Hampshire, including 304 against Somerset, and topped the batting averages with 91.23. The description of Arthur Owen ends thus:- “Jones is one of the most refreshing batsmen now before the public. His eagerness to get runs may often cost him his wicket, but nothing can be more delightful than his hitting when he is really set. A more brilliant, punishing player on the off-side it would be hard to find, and he is full of resource. Heart and soul in the game, he is at all times and seasons one of the keenest of cricketers.” It was not only the writers of Wisden who were aware of A.O.’s resourcefulness. John Dixon, who had been captain of Nottinghamshire since 1889, resigned for business reasons in favour of Arthur Owen. Mr. Dixon continued to play under his successor until 1905 and occasionally captained the county when Arthur Owen was away playing representative cricket. Jones could afford to be well pleased with his performance during the year. He must have been aware that great things were expected of him and hoped that he could add leadership to his skills of batting, bowling and fielding. His approach to captaincy was that draws, though honourable, were dull to watch. Every effort must be made to 26