Lives in Cricket No 22 - Jack Mercer

122 more in the match and that his first-class playing days had finally come to an end. He had, though, the odd satisfaction of setting a new record for the oldest player to appear for Northamptonshire in first-class cricket; he also continued to play in Second Eleven and Club and Ground friendlies for Northamptonshire until the end of the 1948 season. 110 Jack had always had a good eye for talent, whether it was of the cricketing, equine or feminine sort, and with his terms of employment including searching for new players, Jack spent many weekends scouting the Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues. One of the players who caught his eye was Fred Jakeman, a left-handed batsman from Yorkshire who had played a few times for his native county in 1946 and 1947. But Fred had been unable to cement a regular berth in the Yorkshire line-up – not through any failure in technique, but through bouts of nerves and self-doubt. Nevertheless, he was a prolific scorer in League cricket, and Jack persuaded the Northamptonshire hierarchy to offer Fred terms for 1949. Those terms, however, were less than generous, so rather than send an impersonal letter, Jack decided to visit Nelson one weekend to discuss things face-to-face with Fred. When play ended at the ground, Jack missed bumping into Fred – perhaps he got too engrossed chatting with someone else – so after being told that Fred had gone to the town’s cinema, Jack made his way into town. He hung around outside the cinema for nearly two hours, but his wait was worth it, as he was able to grab Fred on his way out and suggest that they went somewhere for a chat. As Jack had Coaching in the east and west The old pals’ act. Former playing colleagues Joe Hills, Emrys Davies and Jack Mercer meet up in 1951. 110 Only eight older players have made appearances for counties in the ‘official’ Championship. These are R.H.Moss (Worcestershire) in 1925; W.G.Quaife (Warwickshire) 1928; C.E.de Trafford (Leicestershire) 1920; R.Daft (Nottinghamshire) 1891; Harry Elliott (Derbyshire) 1947; E.M.Grace (Gloucestershire) 1896; G.R.Cox (Sussex) 1928; and J.H.King (Leicestershire) 1925.