Famous Cricketers No 63 - A.O.Jones

Arthur Owen was at Oakham and mused on the situation whereby a headmaster could allow one of his Staff six days off a week to play cricket. In researching A.O.’s cricket at Bedford, he had first happened upon a match in which he scored nought in each innings, but was not out in the second. Mr Kaye said how sorry the School was that ill health had prevented him from achieving success in Australia. He finished by saying he was honouring them more than they were honouring him and hoping that he had a long and successful career in front of him until he retired “say, in another 50 or 60 years”. In reply, Arthur Owen said he was indeed honoured and appreciated the invitation more than any Test Match he had been asked to play in. He did not like speech making, although he had had a lot of practice lately. Every speech seemed to be worse than the one before. He said he was pleased to see so many old friend around him and hoped that they were equally pleased to see him. He paid tribute to Dick Rogers and said that he had met Old Boys from both Bedford schools playing cricket all around the world. After giving some details of his school life he said that, given the side they first chose and a little bit of luck, the tour of Australia might have ended in retaining the Ashes. He concluded by saying that the evening would always be a red letter day in his life and that he looked forward to attending more old Modernians’ Dinners in the future. In the vote of thanks, tribute was paid to Arthur Owen and the way he had turned Nottinghamshire into a side capable of winning the Championship. The evening ended with musical entertainment and the singing of “Auld Lang Syne”. Nottinghamshire knew they were having a bad season when they lost at Trent Bridge to Gloucestershire. This was only the second time this had happened during the Jones captaincy. Gilbert Jessop made 75 out of 80 in 65 minutes and 78 out of 86 in just over an hour. Iremonger’s 74 was the highest Notts score. Jones took 7 catches in the match. Salter fell to the most spectacular of the seven. He mis-cued while driving and Jones, at short leg, took the ball high above his head. Arthur Owen established a new Notts record, which has been equalled once by Bill Voce, but not passed. While scoring his last 50 of the season, against Middlesex, Arthur Owen displayed some of his former sparkle. Notts batted very poorly in the first innings on a good wicket. Middlesex batted well and made a huge score. Following on, Jones, Hardstaff and Payton helped put on a reasonable total, but it was not enough to prevent the match being lost by a large margin. The last home encounter was against the Philadelphians. Arthur Owen kept wicket brilliantly and took 6 catches in the match. The sides were fairly even on the first innings, but Hallam found his old form on the last day and took 7 wickets for 32 runs. G.J.V.Weigall, who played for Kent from 1891 to 1903, wrote a series of articles in the magazine London Opinion called “Cricketers I have met”. The one about A.O.Jones was extensively quoted in the Dunstable Borough Gazette which describes the subject as “son of Mrs. Jones, Lanark House, Dunstable”. This was where Christopher Lloyd practised as a G.P. The article implies that Mary Cartwright Jones was well known in the town. It is not clear whether the doctor or his mother owned the house. Other documents say that it was the subject of a mortgage provided by the Foresters Friendly Society. In commenting on Jones’ fielding, Weigall says, “With the exception, perhaps of Archie MacLaren, I know no man who can dodge the field about and stop your best shots as well as ‘Jonah’ can. Moreover, he is always watching and ‘foxing’ the batsman, and while a bowler is delivering the ball he will move short-leg just that one yard which makes all the difference between the catch possible and the catch impossible.” Other comments include, “I don’t think there is a cricketer living who presents such an athletic and lissome figure in the field. To my mind, ‘Jonah’ is the most perfect-looking athlete who appears in the cricket field, and he is keenness and watchfulness personified.” Arthur Owen’s batting is praised, too. “There is no doubt that ‘Jonah’ is a dasher; he is really good to watch both batting and running, for he can steal a short one with the best of them. There is no man who plays back to bowling on a wet wicket with such terrific force as the Notts captain, he hits it down so hard that it almost sticks in the ground. I have never seen another batsman who puts such power into a defensive shot.” Weigall then gives a possible clue to the reason for Arthur Owen’s health problems. He states, “He has one little vice, and it is cigarette smoking; he is a wonderful exponent of the art of turning tobacco into ash, and I cannot remember a-seeing him without a cigarette in his mouth when he was ‘off-duty’.” He concludes by saying that he was sure that the outcome of the recent tour of Australia 63