Lives in Cricket No 4 - Ernie Jones

for 93 runs. MacLaren’s team was the last to visit Australia under private management, and while major players such as Ranjitsinhji, Jackson, Fry, Rhodes and Hirst were unavailable, MacLaren recruited a good team, including Sydney Barnes from the Lancashire League. Reedman worked Jones hard in his next two matches. With Giffen unavailable for the eastern states tour, he gave him 81 overs against Victoria in Melbourne from which he took 8 for 222, and against New South Wales in a single innings, Jones delivered 48 overs for figures of 4 for 121. When Trumble, Hill and Noble selected the First Test team for Sydney, it was suggested that they would probably go as near as possible to the Australian eleven of 1899 and they certainly did that, even to the point of picking Tasmanian resident Darling as captain without any form to recommend him. In fact, Darling had notified Melbourne Cricket Club secretary Major Wardill, from Launceston, that he would not be able to get away from his shearing until the end of November but that he would be available for the first three Test matches if required. England went into the match with four players making their Test debuts – opening medium-fast bowler Barnes, Kent left-arm orthodox spinner Colin Blythe, Somerset all-rounder Len Braund, and Nottinghamshire all-rounder John Gunn. Jones opened the bowling at good pace, with a strong breeze at his back and his first five overs produced just 11 runs. However, the openers MacLaren and Hayward then began to open up, mainly MacLaren who had a fortunate life at 47 when trying to steer Jones through the slips. The ball was placed gently into the hands of Howell at second slip who, to the surprise of every one, spilt it. As the English batsman Arthur Jones, an excellent close field himself, who was writing a player’s report for the press commented: No one except a bowler, and particularly a fast bowler, knows what it is like after having perhaps bowled his heart out for an hour or so during a hot day to have an easy catch missed … but it is most annoying, more especially in a Test match, when such a lot is at stake. Jones, the batsman, concluded that Jones never bowled as well afterwards, dropping both his pace and length. Catches are often missed but the incident was an early turning point and MacLaren and Hayward went on to a brilliant opening stand of 154, at which point Hayward was caught at long off from Trumble. After that A Slow Dimming: 1900-1903 56