Lives in Cricket No 43 - John Jackson

52 opposition, taking seven for 15 and eleven for 33 in 57.3 overs. This was despite the boys having the assistance of two or three Old Rossallians and three professionals. On 22 May the AEE began a three day match against XX of Yorkshire at the Clarence Ground, Barnsley, winning by 27 runs. The match clashed with the Surrey v Yorkshire game at The Oval, so some of the best Yorkshire players were not available. Jackson took eight for 44 and five for 17 in a total of 81 overs. A large banner depicting a crown and the motto ‘God Save the Queen’ hung over the entrance gate, and a goodly crowd enjoyed the carnival occasion and the refreshments provided. John Thewlis, a future Yorkshire captain, played in this match, top scoring in both innings with 38 and 12, and being presented with a new bat. Jackson’s next match for the AEE was on 2, 3 and 4 June against XXII of Southampton Union Club which the Eleven lost by 67 runs. Jackson, perhaps tired after a long journey, bowled only in the second innings when he took four for 42 in 35 overs. A crowd of 1,600 paid for admission to the match. His next game for AEE was at Christchurch Ground in Oxford on 16, 17 and 18 June against XVI Undergraduates, where he took part in a ‘tied’ match. Oxford scored 92 and 57, AEE making 53 and 96. Jackson took ten for 42 and seven for 21 in a total of 77 overs. Interestingly, John Thewlis played in this match for the AEE. A three day match against XVIII of Manchester Broughton at Salford on 19 June was turned into a one day match by rain. The AEE made 225. Jackson dismissed both the Club openers, reducing them to twelve for 2, but that was where the game ended. A match against XXIII of Lincolnshire on 23, 24 and 25 June on the Lindum Club ground was won by 87 runs, with Jackson bowling 15 overs and taking two for 16. An interesting footnote in the local paper says that one Lincoln player walked the 18 miles from Sleaford to take part in the match, having missed the team coach. He arrived just in time to bat at the fall of the twentieth wicket. On 10 July Jackson played against XXII of Morley in a drawn match in which he bowled 82 overs and took eight for 87. Morley needed one run to win with three wickets left when the game ended. At Grantham a week later the AEE faced H.Handley’s XXII. After following on, Handley’s side hit up 168 in their second innings (Jackson five for 21). AEE needed 88 to win and struggled to get them. At 82 for nine, John Jackson strode out to join George Parr, and the two Notts men saw their side home by one wicket. On 24 and 25 July at Barton Court, Kintbury in Berkshire, the AEE were well beaten by seventeen wickets by Captain Handley’s XXII. On what was clearly a bad wicket the AEE made 38 and 54, and the XXII scored 64 and 30 for four. Jackson took twelve for 21 and four for 13 in 43 overs in the match. On 31 July, on Parr and Wisden’s ground at Leamington Spa, the AEE lost a match against XVI of the Free Foresters by two wickets. Jackson had two Herculean bowling stints – 55 overs to take six for 68 in the first innings and 35.1 to take five for 48 in the second. A defeat followed on 7, 8 and 9 August at Doncaster where XXII of South At the Height of His Powers