Lives in Cricket No 4 - Ernie Jones

passengers had to go short. It was 2am when they reached the Inns of Court Hotel and were in no condition to play a few hours later. Jones, in fact, played in four of the games, the first against Sussex at Hove where he was flogged by Fry to the tune of 1 for 147 but then, no doubt, enjoyed the pleasure of Trumper turning the tables on the county in his majestic undefeated 300, out of 4 for 624 declared. In the other matches Jones’ best workout was in the return match against MCC at Lord’s where he took 5 for 98 in the first innings of a nine-wicket win. Although England could only even the series there was considerable interest in the match and a first-day crowd of more than 20,000 attended. The conditions for batting were perfect, the weather generally overcast, and it was an easy-paced pitch which England took advantage of by making 435 runs for the loss of just four wickets. MacLaren won the toss and made a radical change in the batting order by opening with Jackson and Hayward but the alteration proved successful. The openers made a good start, although for a time the bowlers were hard to get away, Jones pitching the ball short of a length and Noble bowling accurately so that at one point there was a spell of nine maiden overs. However, once they were removed, McLeod and Trumble had little effect. The batsmen warmed to their task, with both Hayward and Jackson making a lot of runs with off drives and Jackson being particularly adept with his cuts. When Jones returned, Jackson took 12 from one over and then edged a ball luckily for three to raise the 100. Jackson’s own century came shortly after lunch out of 155 but, when the score reached 185, Jones put a fast ball through his defence to bowl him for 118. With such a strong base the English batsmen were quick to build on it and Ranjitsinhji and Hayward added 131 before Hayward (137) fell two runs later at 318. Then Fry and MacLaren put on a scintillating stand of 110 in 65 minutes until MacLaren departed just before stumps. The quality of the English batting was much appreciated by the spectators who vociferously called for their heroes to make an appearance in front of the pavilion at the end of the day. Surrey’s Hayward also benefited from a collection which raised £131, nearly a pound for every run from the bat. England’s object on the second day was to force the play, with the aim of getting Australia out twice. Their difficulty was the strength the Australian batting had shown throughout the summer, particularly when they had their backs to the wall. After Fry was 48 The Great Fast Bowler: 1896-1899