Lives in Cricket No 43 - John Jackson

17 Dudley, a game which the AEE won by the narrow margin of 5 runs in a tense finish. This was due in no small measure to Jackson’s bowling. Although he scored but 2 and 4 with the bat, his bowling was sufficiently and consistently hostile that he bowled 25.3 (4 ball) overs in the Dudley first innings, taking four wickets for 6 runs, and 30.1 overs in the second innings to take ten for 27 – figures of 14-33 in the match. Lillywhite’s Guide states that John Jackson played for Twenty-Two of Leicestershire against the AEE in a game at Leicester beginning on 23 August, but other sources believed the participant to have been William Jackson. The Jackson who did take part took six for 37 and two for 22 which sounds like a ‘Foghorn’ performance but we cannot be certain. Writing about the same match Bell’s Life asserts that a C.Hoskins played rather than the T.Selby who is given as a player in Scores and Biographies . The only other evidence I can offer is an interview given by Jackson to A.W.Pullin and published in Pullin’s book, Talks with Old England Cricketers . Jackson refers to some difficulties one of the umpires had in getting from Leicester to Hereford to take part in the next AEE match. This is the only occasion I can find on which a match at Hereford immediately succeeded one at Leicester. Is this conclusive? Some of the other episodes mentioned by Jackson in his interview do not quite tie in with actual events. There is no argument about Jackson’s next opponents as he played for the AEE against Twenty-Two of Hereford on 27 August, taking two for 19 in the local team’s only innings and scoring 0 and 15. The match was drawn very much in favour of the AEE whose second innings score of 281 suggests a better prepared pitch than the ones they normally played on. The next opposition for the AEE was a game against XVIII of the Nottingham Commercial Club at the Old Forest Ground in Nottingham where William Clarke had first appeared in a great match in 1817. The AEE won this match by four wickets. Jackson’s bowling was not used, there being only four double figure scores among the 36 Club batsmen who went to the crease. He batted well scoring 14 and 13. The next game, against Twenty- Two of Leeds, was won by AEE by ten wickets with Jackson taking five for 24 in Leeds’ second innings. Some sources, but not Haygarth, claim that John Jackson appeared as a given man for Twenty-Two of Birmingham against the United All- England Eleven at Small Heath, Birmingham on 10 September. Scores and Biographies states that William, not John, played, but figures of six for 24 and seven for 29 in the UAEE innings are suggestive of a John Jackson performance. However, it is hard to find conclusive proof. He certainly did appear for the AEE in their final match of the season at Anlaby Road, Hull on 17 September. He scored 2 and 4 and bowled eight overs in the Hull second innings, taking two for 7. None of the Hull batsmen reached 10 in their first innings, with Clarke (eight wickets) and Willsher (twelve), proving too much for the inexperienced local players. Rain meant the game finished in a draw but did not prevent a large assemblage of ladies and gentlemen from attending each day. Early Career, Marriage and Family