Lives in Cricket No 43 - John Jackson

44 both against Surrey and both lost. At The Oval on 6, 7 and 8 July Surrey won by 103 runs, scoring 168 and 203, with Jackson bowling 62.2 overs and taking five for 77 and three for 54. Nottinghamshire scored 130 and 138. Surrey duly completed the ‘double’ at Trent Bridge on 25, 26 and 27 July where Jackson took three for 36 and nought for 23 in 32 overs. Nottinghamshire suffered a batting failure, making 134 and 79, with Surrey scoring 136 and 78 for two to win by eight wickets. Jackson played in four matches for the North of England in 1861. Against the South of England at Lord’s on 15, 16 and 17 July, he took two for 49 in 41.2 overs, and four for 47 in 31 as the South scored 195 and 94 for six to win the match by four wickets. Caffyn, who played a number of fine innings against ‘Jackson’ sides this year, scored 65 in the South’s first innings. The North could only muster 14 and 139 in their innings’. At Aston Park, Birmingham, on 5, 6 and 7 September, the sides met again on a ground Haygarth condemned as ‘terribly rough, quite unfit for cricket’. He clearly was not impressed! Jackson took advantage of the conditions to take six for 43 and five for 40 in a total of 58.1 overs, but it was not enough to win the game. The South made 86 and 122, beating the North totals of 100 and 65 by 43 runs. At the Kennington Oval on 18, 19 and 20 July, the North took on Surrey in an interesting match that was won by Surrey by 92 runs. Surrey scored 142 (Jackson one for 35) and the North replied with 250, Daft hitting 64, Hayward 66 and Carpenter 62. Behind by 108 runs, Surrey owed much to Caffyn who scored 98 whilst Lockyer hit 69* and G.Griffith 59. Their total was 320 with Jackson bowling 58 overs to take three for 97. The North needed 213 to win but collapsed to 120 all out, with Jackson making the highest score of 30. In the return match at Manchester Broughton’s ground, the weather washed out the first day, 22 August. On the designated second day the North scored 163 and Surrey replied with 184 (G.Griffith 59, Jackson seven for 51 off 36 overs). Fresh wickets were then prepared as those used in the two sides’ first innings had been badly cut up and affected by the rain that had fallen. When play resumed the North went in again and scored 162 for five with E.Stephenson hitting 69. Caffyn was the star batsman again when an England side met Surrey at The Oval on 29 August. He scored 58 and 46 despite being somewhat lame. Surrey scored 234 and 229 with E.Dowson making their highest score of 80. Jackson took three for 78 and one for 67, one of his leaner returns. England made 189 and 218 to bring the total number of runs scored in the match to 870, but Surrey won by 56 runs. At the Lord’s ground on 8 July a match was played between an England XI and Fifteen of Kent which the Kent side won by the margin of an innings and 74 runs. Jackson bowled 27 overs to take four for 45 in the Kent innings of 243 with England making 84 and 85 in their two innings. In the return match at Canterbury Kent played with 14 men and won by 54 runs. Jackson bowled only 4 overs for 21 runs in Kent’s 134 all out but, after At the Height of His Powers