Lives in Cricket No 43 - John Jackson

68 Still at the Top Cirencester in Gloucestershire where the ground was in fine condition after a recent heatwave. The band of the West Gloucester Militia was present on this occasion. The AEE was handicapped in that Willsher was unable to bowl but Jackson took seven for 20 in 29 overs in the Cirencester first innings. The Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Chronicle graphically described one dismissal saying, ‘One of the locals named Morris had the symmetry of his stumps destroyed’. The XII won the match by 80 runs with their two given professionals, Hodgson and Lillywhite, taking all 20 AEE wickets. This led to a protest from a Chronicle reader about the system of playing XXII against XI and making the point that it was difficult for the AEE batsmen to make runs against twenty fielders. The AEE returned to Yorkshire where they played XXII of Dewsbury on 22August, beating them by six wickets. Tarrant and Tinley dismissed the locals between them. Jackson scored 20 and took two catches as his contribution to the victory. The next match was at Pudsey. Haygarth was highly critical of the ground, ‘Out of the many bad cricket grounds the England Elevens have visited this was the worst it was ever their lot to perform on.’ – quite a statement! Jackson took two wickets but the fact that 31 byes were conceded tells its own story of the state of the pitch. In the AEE first innings of 37, byes was top scorer with 12. 1 September saw the AEE playing at Kinning Park in Glasgow against XXII of the Clydesdale Club. The scores were level on first innings but the XXII made 95 in their second and reduced the AEE to 60 for 9 when time was called. Jackson took 11 wickets in the match. Back to Yorkshire – 5, 6 and 7 September - they came to Castle Hill in Scarborough where they beat the local XXII by 16 runs. The field was ‘en fete’ for what was turning into an annual occasion. Jackson had match figures of seven for 44 in 58 overs. At times the wind was so strong that the use of bails had to be dispensed with. On 8, 9 and 10 September the AEE met XXII of Whalley and lost by 12 wickets. A good attendance was ensured with special trains laid on by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. The AEE made 62 before Jackson (six for 24) and Tinley (14 for 45) demolished Whalley for 73. In their second innings the AEE made 69 and set the locals 64 to win. With excitement mounting more trains brought in yet more spectators and the band of the Clitheroe Rifle Volunteers played tunes to keep the crowd amused. Jackson bowled with his old fire to take seven for 20 in 22.3 overs but it was not enough. No sooner had the match ended than a storm broke out clearing the thousands of spectators quickly from the field to seek refuge in the pavilion, under the railway arches and still more at the railway station where the carriages of the special trains were soon filled. Altogether the takings were £140 for admission and the Club made an overall profit of between £10 and £20. The AEE’s northern travels next took them to Kendal in Westmoreland on 12, 13 and 14 September where only ten hours play was possible over the three days scheduled for the match. There was no play until 4.00 pm on the second day as the third day’s play did not start until 3.00 pm. In the