Lives in Cricket No 4 - Ernie Jones

selectors picked ten men for the 1902 team to tour England at the end of the Fourth Test. The remaining four players were expected to be drawn from all-rounders Charles Eady and Bert Hopkins, left-arm orthodox spinner Jack Saunders (who took 9 for 162 in the fourth Test), and Howell who were named in the side for the Fifth Test. Also against Jones was a damning newspaper interview with former hero Fred Spofforth who stated that Jones’ previous success had been achieved because of his wonderful pace. Now that Jones was presumed to have lost it, Spofforth said that he would prefer to have a medium-pace bowler who depended on length, break and deception. Such a bowler was Travers who went into the final Test when Saunders withdrew with an injury. As it turned out, Jones had good news near the end of the season. While most people thought he had had his day, there remained a feeling that with judicious handling he could still be a difficult and dangerous bowler. Even past his best, Jones was still much quicker than other bowlers, with the possible exception of Aboriginal Jack Marsh. Marsh’s pace and versatility was on regular show in Sydney grade cricket, where he led the bowling aggregates and averages, but he had been virtually thrown out of first-class cricket and removed from major consideration after being called for throwing repeatedly by umpire Bob Crockett in a New South Wales–Victoria Sheffield Shield match in Sydney the previous summer. Jones won selection for his third tour of England ahead of Eady and Travers. The departure of the eleventh Australian team for England savoured a good deal of the snowball gathering strength as it goes. Hanson Carter first embarked at Sydney, Darling joined the boat at Hobart, and Melbourne saw Gregory, Duff, Kelly, Howell, Trumper, Noble, Hopkins, Saunders and Armstrong go on board. Hill, Jones and manager Wardill made up the party in Adelaide, but even then the group was not complete as Trumble delayed his leaving for a week. The send-offs on the Omrah were progressive: first from Melbourne, then Largs Bay and finally Fremantle on 24 March. 1902: Australians tour of England Jones was given a much lighter workload than on his previous tours and was frequently made twelfth man, principally because in a wet English summer the spin of Trumble, Saunders and Noble proved far more effective in Australia’s 2-1 series win. He did not play until the third tour match against Nottinghamshire, and then A Slow Dimming: 1900-1903 60