Lives in Cricket No 43 - John Jackson

61 The England Eleven in Australia and New Zealand 1863/64 for Port Chalmers in New Zealand where they were due to spend a month before returning to Australia. Before mentioning the cricket we must take note of an incident that occurred when here the team attended a Maori gathering. A leading Maori lady offered the kiss of greeting to a member of the team. George Parr suggested that John Jackson should step forward to do the honours as he was part gypsy. Jackson, however, refused the invitation and Parr kissed the lady himself so everyone was satisfied. The first match was at Dunedin on 2, 3 and 4 February which was reached in a coach and six driven by the well-known coachman, Cabbage-Tree Ned. Otago were beaten by nine wickets. Haygarth commented that the ’ground was a wretched one, which had only just been laid, and was in no way fit for cricket.’ Part of the game was played on a fresh pitch, nearly at right angles with the original one. Jackson bowled 70.1 overs, 43 maidens and took eleven wickets for 42 in the match. Hayward took twenty-four wickets for 70. Otago made 71 and 83; England 99 and 58 for one. It was certainly a poor pitch on which to bat! After this match the Eleven played a combined XXII of Canterbury and Otago who were dismissed for 91 and 66 with England making 73 (Grace 42) in reply. Tinley took twenty-five wickets and Lockyer stumped nine and caught three batsmen, with Carpenter taking seven catches. An unusual scorecard entry is recorded for a batsman named Powys of the combined team: the entry reads, ‘Left the wicket thinking he was out’. Jackson took two wickets in the match. The next match on 8 and 9 February was against XXII of Christchurch, a game the England team won by an innings and 2 runs. In their first innings Christchurch made 30 with Jackson (six for 11) and Tinley (thirteen for 18) proving irresistible. After the match ended Parr led a team consisting of six of the England side with five local men against a similar combination captained by George Anderson. Parr’s side won by 7 runs, and Jackson, who played on Anderson’s side, did not bowl. On 16, 17 and 18 February the England team met XXII of Otago at Dunedin, winning by an innings and 51 runs. Jackson bowled 45 overs with 32 maidens and took ten for 21 in Otago’s first innings, taking seven more wickets when Otago went in again. After this match several foot races took place with Jackson beating Tinley in a 100 yards race before losing to Caffyn over the same distance. Grace won the competition for throwing the cricket ball, hurling a throw 101 yards. The Eleven then planted some trees in commemoration of their visit before heading back to Australia where they arrived on 27 February. In their first match back in Australia – 2, 3 and 4 March - the team played at Campbell’s Creek against XXII of Castlemaine, winning quite easily by an innings and 37 runs. Jackson took four for 11 in the first innings and did not bowl in the second when the bowling was done by Tinley (twelve for 28) and Hayward (eight for 13). Carpenter took eight catches. Haygarth comments that ‘The Castlemaine XXII were all bona fide residents of the district’. Some sterling resistance was offered by one of the local batsmen,