Lives in Cricket No 43 - John Jackson

71 Still at the Top overs in the match taking seven for 45. Haygarth noted that the AEE was now composed entirely of northern cricketers as southern professional cricketers such as Julius Caesar, H.H.Stephenson and E Willsher had left them for the United South of England Eleven. There was a further cricketing problem involving a division of loyalties between players’ county teams and the itinerant professional elevens who paid more for their services than their counties did. The next AEE match was at Huddersfield on 15, 16 and 17 May against a local XX which defeated the Eleven by the narrowest possible margin of one run. Jackson did his best, taking 17 wickets in the match but Luke Greenwood took five in both innings for Huddersfield including Jackson, bowled for 13 in the final innings. The Eleven then had a long journey to face in order to get to Partick in Glasgow where they were due to face XX of West of Scotland 18, 19 and 20 May. Luke Greenwood came with them to guest for the Scottish team and he took four wickets in both of the AEE innings in a drawn match which was played on the Hamilton Crescent Ground. The AEE scored 137 and 204, West of Scotland made 82 and 52 -9. Jackson took three wicket. At Southampton on 29 May the AEE were beaten by XXII of the Southampton Union Club by five wickets. Jackson bowled a long spell in this match – 69 overs to take eight for 65. An even match saw all four totals fall within the range of 125 to 155. Jackson’s next AEE match was at Whalley on 8 June where trains bought many spectators from Preston, Burnley, Blackburn, Accrington and Clitheroe to watch the match and be entertained by the bands of the Burnley Rifle Volunteers and the 3rd King’s Own Hussars. The XXII collapsed before Tinley’s lob bowling as he took 29 wickets in the match. Whalley made only 33 in their first innings and, although they did better with 143 in their second knock with John Smith of Yeadon scoring 48, the highest individual score in the match, the AEE still won by 63 runs. Jackson took one wicket in the second innings. 12 June saw the AEE begin a match against XXII of Ossett who beat them by 11 wickets. Jackson took 14 wickets in the match, but Luke Greenwood, making something of a habit of this, took five cheap AEE wickets in the second innings and Ossett needed only 69 to win. The end of the match was followed by a contest between three of the England players, Jackson, Oscroft and Iddison and nine of the Ossett players. The three England players were bowled out for 7 and Ossett made 8 for 8 to win by one wicket. The AEE now had two relatively easy victories in Yorkshire, beating XXII of Boston Spa by 62 runs on 15, 16 and 17 June and XXII of Mirfield by 95 runs on 19, 20 and 21 June. In this latter match the Huddersfield Chronicle described Jackson’s bowling as being ‘more destructive even than usual’. He took 21 wickets and shared a good stand with George Tarrant in the AEE second innings making 33 whilst Tarrant hit up 53. The next match, against XVIII of Manchester Broughton featured some unusually high scoring. The AEE made 278 and the Club replied with 233,