Famous Cricketers No 63 - A.O.Jones

J.A.Dixon batted and bowled with renewed vigour but Arthur Owen was too keen to score quickly from the onset, seeming intent to hit boundaries from the moment he arrived at the crease. There is no doubt, though, that the winning of matches was a result of his being captain. He set his team such a good example in the field that the standard of Nottinghamshire fielding improved over the years, simply by his expectation that it would. In the Wisden for this year, D.L.A.Jephson the Surrey captain, bemoans the poor fielding standards of the successful batsmen, saying that they are inattentive in the field, having justified their place in the team by making a big score. He picks out Archie MacLaren, Gilbert Jessop and A.O.Jones as the exceptions to this rule and implies that all cricketers should follow their example. The first county match was played at Bristol and although he did not repeat his performance of the previous year, Jones gave a brilliant display of batting while making 73. His only century and century stand of the year came in the match at Grace Road. Leicestershire were all out for 166. At the end of the first day’s play, Nottinghamshire were 239 for 6 with A.O. on 142. C.E.Dench and he had put on 128 in 80 minutes for the fifth wicket, of which Dench made 42. Play was all but washed out on the second day. Jones was out with the score at 259 for 8. His 155 contained two sixes and 19 fours and was made in 205 minutes. His innings started slowly and he gave a chance at 24 but the pace increased as time went on and he showed increasing mastery of the bowling. The first defeat of the season came in the home match against Surrey. Surrey had a first innings lead of only 38. Arthur Owen and Shrewsbury made a first wicket stand of 68 at the beginning of the second innings. Jones made his team’s highest score of the match. Surrey were set 261 to win. At tea they were 129 for 4 with 100 minutes left for play. Had all catches gone to hand, Notts might have won this match. In the return fixture, Shrewsbury and Jones put on 71 for the first wicket but rain ruined the match. Arthur Owen did not have much more success with the bat until the home match with Sussex. Wass and J.R.Gunn were in such devastating form that Sussex were all out for 113. A.O.batted at number 4 and made the top score with a brilliant innings of 80. Notts had a first innings lead of 111 and were well placed to win. Wass, however, had a complete loss of form and eight bowlers were needed before Sussex declared at 315 for 7. Jones was again invited to play for the Gentlemen at the Oval and once more found himself batting down the order. His team were 97 runs adrift on the first innings. A.O. produced his best bowling figures of the season and dismissed T.W.Hayward before he could reach his century. The Gentlemen were asked to make 350 to win. Jones made 46 in a superb attempt to get the runs in time and the amateurs just failed to secure the draw. A.O. was dismissed in both innings by John Gunn who was making his debut appearance for the Players. At the end of the season, Jones was invited to play for the North against the South. Both sides were exceptionally strong and Arthur Owen missed a golden opportunity. He opened the batting with A.C.MacLaren and their partnerships accounted for a mere 30 runs. Five centuries were made altogether and 1227 runs were scored in the twelve and three-quarter hours’ play over three days. Arthur Owen would have been pleased with the effect his captaincy had had on the Nottinghamshire team and their improvement in the County Championship. He would have felt disappointed at his own batting and hoped that the next season would show better results in that aspect of his game. One advantage a captain has is the freedom to decide whether or not to put himself on to bowl. There are several examples during his years of captaincy where Arthur Owen bowls only a few overs with not much luck and then takes himself off. On many of the occasions in which he returns good bowling figures, he took a wicket in his first over. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 139. Nottinghamshire v MCC, Lord’s, May 2, 3 (Nottinghamshire won by eight wickets) (captain, won toss) c E.G.Bromley-Martin b A.E.Trott 47 249 125 c A.E.Trott b J.T.Hearne 4 60-2 183 29