Lives in Cricket No 43 - John Jackson

13 The All-England Eleven 12 June Downham Market 16 June Whitehaven 19 June Manchester Broughton Club at Salford 23 June Enville Hall, Stamford, Lincolnshire 26 June Trowbridge, Wiltshire 14 July Melton Mowbray 17 July Sleaford, Lincolnshire 24 July Maidstone, Kent 4 August Nottingham Commercial Club at Trent Bridge 14 August Bristol 18 August Stoke-on-Trent 21 August Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge 25 August Newark-on-Trent 29 August Hull 22 September Stockton-on-Tees 25 September Leeds When you consider that rail travel, although expanding, was still in its infancy and did not reach to all parts of the country and that travel by train was nowhere near the comfortable and speedy way to travel that it is today, it is remarkable to think that teams should contemplate such an itinerary. The expansion of the railway network was a major factor in the mid- nineteenth century expansion of cricket. Following on from the Rainhill Trials of 1829 and the opening of the Liverpool to Manchester railway, a basic network was quickly developed which by 1855 covered most of the country. All this meant that the itinerant elevens were able to reach far- flung parts of the country far more easily. Prior to this travel between major destinations had been by stage coach or the canal network. The railway was faster than these and enabled cricketers to finish a match one evening and start another one the following morning. This all speeded up the further expansion of county cricket and later the start of international cricket. Richard Daft, a member of the All-England Eleven, has left us a wonderful description of a journey made in 1859 by the Eleven to fulfil a fixture at Redruth in Cornwall, probably just before the completion of the line from Plymouth to Penzance. Travelling along, by coach, on a wild and deserted road with a deep ditch on either side, their problems increased when they ran into a violent thunderstorm. Playing for the team on this occasion was one, Captain Handley, a veteran of the Crimean War, who had charged fearlessly into the Russian guns at Balaclava as a member of the Light Brigade. The good Captain confirmed later that the violence of this storm frightened him more than the Russian guns and he let fly some choice and lurid remarks about the weather, the road and the team’s general situation. The Captain’s profane language added to the nervousness of the All-England captain, George Parr of Nottinghamshire, and he asked Handley to moderate his language, fearful that he would bring down the wrath of the heavens upon the whole team.