Lives in Cricket No 4 - Ernie Jones

encouraged Jones’ fast bowling and he remained in his service for two years before moving later to the far-western New South Wales silver mining city of Broken Hill with his family, sometimes working for his father as a painter and mason. He spent four years with the Proprietary Company mine where he further developed his powerful frame and distinguished himself on local sports fields as a right-arm fast bowler, Australian Rules footballer and baseballer. Baseball was introduced into the silver city in 1889 and in that year a visiting Adelaide team was defeated. Broken Hill then made a return visit and Jones was a member of a team which played on the Adelaide Oval. At that time he expressed a wish to bowl on the ground in a cricket match. In 1889/90 Jones played cricket with the Railways club in Broken Hill, when his average as a right-hand batsman was recalled as being around 40, and his bowling average three. He frequently bowled unchanged throughout an innings. An example of Jones’ stamina came that same season when Railways, Zingari and Broken Hill were all in the running for the local premiership. Due to play Broken Hill, Jones reported a squashed toe on the morning of a match – possibly the result of an industrial accident – and was not expected to play. However, he not only made himself available but again bowled through the innings and then contributed 40 runs. On New Year’s Day, 1890 Jones was a member of a Broken Hill association team which defeated neighbouring town Silverton by an innings prompting the Silverton mayor to reward the winning teamwith a baseball outfit. Jones put baseball aside in 1890 when he represented the South Australian club which won the football premiership. In the 1890/91 cricket season he left Railways for South Broken Hill and no doubt some of his former team-mates were among his victims when he bowled four of them for ducks. A fortnight later he claimed 11 wickets in South’s nine-wicket win over Wanderers. Jones moved to South Broken Hill for the 1891 football season but his side struggled to fill fourth place in a six-team competition. Jones left Broken Hill some time between August, 1891 and January, 1892 for the northern South Australian town of Quorn where he stayed with his elder brother, William, who was licensee of the Transcontinental Hotel, and worked briefly as a labourer. According to the Port Augusta and Quorn Dispatch he was going to reside in the town permanently but the local newspaper was being Early Life: 1869-1892 8