Lives in Cricket No 4 - Ernie Jones

six weeks later in previewing the First Test at Lord’s, the paper was far stronger in its criticism, stating that the fairness of ‘Mr Jones’s bowling’ – he must have been amused at the title and even more the ‘Esq’ that followed his name on the scorecards – had been ‘widely questioned since the opening match at Sheffield Park, and the first ball he sent down to Dr Grace quite startled the members in the pavilion by its near resemblance to throwing’. The paper continued: ‘Mr Jones mended his ways after a while, but the umpires do not seem to lend much attention to the rule which says that the ball must be bowled, “not thrown or jerked.”’ Only Grace and K.S.Ranjitsinhji made runs against Jones’ blinding pace in the first innings in which he took 7 for 84. Grace opened cautiously but then obtained 49 in an hour ‘with the vigour of his younger days’ as The Times put it, and Ranjitsinhji played an exquisite innings of 79. However, Jones’ bowling wrought a change in the position of the game with his destruction of the cream of England’s batting. Keeping the ball short and fast, and with most of his field behind the wicket, he had Jackson caught at third man, Grace caught off the glove by the wicket-keeper, Arthur Shrewsbury and William Gunn caught in slips, Charles Fry played on, and only Ranjitsinhji fell to a catch in front of the wicket at mid-on. In the next game Jones had more modest success against Essex at Leyton but trouble was brewing as a report from the Daily Telegraph indicated: He is the first quick bowler from Australia about the fairness of whose delivery there has been the slightest question. Spofforth, Palmer, Garrett, and Turner were all so scrupulously fair as to be a constant reproach to many of the English bowlers who played against them. Jones is not of their school, and among our cricketers his method has come in for fair criticism. It is a pity that it should be so, but no good purpose would be served by suppressing the truth. Jones’s delivery is a sign of decadence in Australian cricket, but the blame rests with our own authorities, who have so long pursued an ostrich-like policy and declined to grapple with an admitted evil. If the Australians are falling from their own high standard of former days they are only copying our bad example … We are far indeed from having any prejudice against Jones, but after watching him for an hour at Leyton – exactly behind his arm – we came to an unfavourable conclusion as to his action. We The Great Fast Bowler: 1896-1899 22