Lives in Cricket No 4 - Ernie Jones

had returned in time to take part in the intercolonial fixtures. With the South Australian match to begin against New South Wales at the Adelaide Oval on 19 December, it gave Jones, a married man with three children under the age of three, a mere two full days to reunite with his family before pulling on the flannels again. It was a man’s world. ***** Once he got away from the hubbub of touring, Jones declined the Sussex contract and in later years said that it was the worst mistake he ever made. In letters home to his wife and brother in August 1896 he stated that he did not think he could reside permanently in the English climate. Furthermore, when he came to reckon the expenses involved in taking his wife and family to England and then relocating them to Australia at the end of his engagement, he concluded there was another side to the picture. Jones eventually met with SACA secretary John Creswell in December and the full committee resolved on Christmas Eve to find work for him at Adelaide Oval at £3 a week for twelve months and, if no work was available, to make up his earnings to that amount. As Chris Harte stated in his history of the SACA, the association had employed a professional cricketer and one of his less arduous tasks was to water the hedge in front of the members’ stand twice a week. Before that he was back in action for South Australia and got his colony off to a fine start against New South Wales by bowling Iredale, Donnan and Coningham of the top order, and later having Kelly caught at mid-on and bowling Howell in taking 5 for 49. Jones showed the benefit of his English tour by pitching the ball up better and with improved direction. Dismissing the visitors for 162 in their first innings was highly satisfactory, but the local team was unable to take advantage of this, as the most striking feature of the match was the magnificent bowling of fellow English tourist McKibbin who in the two innings took 15 wickets for 125 runs. Jones was in brilliant form in the next two games against Victoria and New South Wales in Melbourne and Sydney when he grabbed 20 wickets in three innings. However, shoddy slip fielding wrecked his figures and Giffen’s knee injury limited his bowling such that he was unable to support Jones by fiddling out the tailenders in his customary manner. In each innings Jones knocked over the top-order batsmen but needed a rest after eight overs instead of The Great Fast Bowler: 1896-1899 29