Lives in Cricket No 4 - Ernie Jones

umpire Phillips saw problems with it, although some reporters commented that he refrained from bowling his most suspicious ball. It was therefore something of a surprise when Jones became the first bowler to be no-balled for throwing in Test cricket following Phillips’ call against him on the third morning of the Second Test in Melbourne. By this time Australia, led by Joe Darling’s 178, had batted for most of the first two days for 520 and Jones was in his fifth over when Phillips saw one ball which he regarded as suspicious. At the time onlookers imagined that Jones had merely run over the bowling crease and it was not until the lunch interval that anyone knew the significance of what had transpired. Press reactions differed and it was reported in the London Daily News that ‘it was refreshing to know that at least one umpire in the world has the courage of his conviction and upholds the law of cricket against throwing the ball’. As invariably has occurred when the throwing issue has arisen, positions are polarised. By contrast Tom Horan was upset, but not because he could not see a kink in Jones’ action. Indeed, he thought it was ‘the same throughout except that occasionally his very fast one was sent down after the slightest possible pause, just prior to delivery’. What he most strongly objected to was that Jones should be called in Australia after being allowed to pass on every ground in England, on many of them by Phillips himself. Horan did not believe that Jones had completely changed his delivery, stating: ‘He bowls just the same now as he bowled on any prior occasion in Melbourne, except that his arm, as a rule, is a little straighter now.’ The objection seemed to based on nationalist concerns, but in one sense Horan condemned himself. If Jones paused and then straightened his right arm in delivery, that would be more likely to constitute a throw than previously. The effect on Jones was minimal, as he was not called again in the first innings in which he bowled 132 balls and he did not bowl in the second when Hugh Trumble and Monty Noble ran through England for 150. Australia won the game easily by an innings and 55 runs and Jones’ contribution of 2 for 54 saw him make short work of Hirst and Jack Hearne, bowling them for a duck and 1, respectively. Jones’ lightning first delivery to Hirst smashed the batsmen’s off stump and further underlined his hold over that player. 36 The Great Fast Bowler: 1896-1899