Lives in Cricket No 4 - Ernie Jones

1956/57. It ranged Pelham Warner (who was not present at the game and whose evidence was from an ecclesiastical source) and Harris in favour of Lord’s, while Jackson and Fry (each of whom attended both games, Jackson as a fellow player) supported Sheffield Park. What has passed down into history is that Jones bowled the ball through W.G.’s beard but perhaps he threw it. The main point was that the Australians had produced a bowler of genuine pace. Jones was briefly known as the ‘Broken Hill windjammer’, the fastest bowler of all time. He was so fast that, on the bone-hard mining city cricket grounds, he terrified batsmen who retreated to square leg before the ball was delivered. In one game for South Broken Hill in March 1891 he dismissed five opponents in his opening over and finished with 7 for 7 as Broken Hill were all out for 8. As matches that season were single innings affairs South Broken Hill had little trouble gaining the necessary target. Presumably it led to an early afternoon in the pub. That reputation probably preceded him to Quorn where it has been said that his legendary status as a tearaway fast bowler was well and truly confirmed on a slate pitch at Orroroo in February, 1892 where he reportedly knocked the stumps over before one batsman could bring his bat down, knocked down the next man next ball with a full toss to the ribs, and dismissed the whole side for under 20. No doubt some of the story is true, but Orroroo, in fact, made 67. Jones was universally known as ‘Jonah’ and as former Wisden Australia editor Warwick Franks has described him: ‘Like an Old Testament prophet, he set about wreaking vengeance on the ways of sinful Adelaide batsmen’ when he moved to the South Australian capital. He was so fast that no number of long stops could keep down the tally of extras. It was fact that in one Adelaide club game 49 byes did come off his bowling and this profligacy has been richly described in a couple of places. The best known of these is by George Giffen in his book, With Bat and Ball : In desperation the captain [Jack Reedman] – one of the finest fieldsmen in Australia – stood at longstop, and twice allowed the ball to pass and go to the chains, although each time he tried hard to stop it. Once the force of the ball knocked him over. 82 The Legend