Lives in Cricket No 43 - John Jackson

82 Chapter Twelve Final Matches After the 1867 season Jackson seldom appears in Haygarth’s recorded scores. For the 1868 season he accepted an appointment as professional at the Lancashire club of Burnley, appearing as pro for the Club against George Parr’s All-England Eleven on 9, 10 and 11 July. He scored 17 and 10 for the Burnley XXII and took four wickets. These included both the AEE opening batsmen, John Smith and Joseph Rowbotham as well as George Tarrant and J.C.Shaw. Tarrant took Jackson’s wicket in both the AEE innings of a game which the AEE won by ten wickets. In other matches Jackson made a guest appearance for XXII of Heckmondwicke against the United South of England XI taking three good wickets in both innings of a drawn game. At Oldham on 26, 27 June he played for the newly formed North of England Eleven against XX of Werneth. The North of England won a close match by five runs so achieving a 100% record as the Eleven did not play again and was abandoned at the end of the season. Jackson’s main contribution to the success was to dismiss four Werneth batsmen for nought in their second innings. Jackson’s only match for the AEE in 1868 was against XXII of Mansfield on 13, 14 and 15 July, a match that Mansfield won by 13 wickets. Haygarth paid a fitting tribute: John Jackson’s name is now seldom found on the England side…. His bowling was very fine in his day and the speed tremendous. He appeared regularly for Burnley that year making the top score – 31 – against Halifax as well as scoring 63 against Broughton and 56 plus seven wickets against Oldham. Against Halifax he took six for 13 and five for 13 and nine wickets in the match against Keighley. His innings against Broughton attracted this from the Burnley Advertiser : Jackson made 63 by truly fine cricket, hitting all-round and bidding defiance to the Broughton attack. They just don’t write reports like that, anymore! Jackson was engaged by Burnley again in 1869 when he took six for 22 and five for 51 against Oldham in a spell which moved the Burnley Advertiser to write that ‘Jackson has never appeared to better advantage with the ball.’ Against Accrington he scored 27 and took five wickets. At Oldham he scored 31, ‘running it up quickly.’ In the Liverpool match he bowled four of his opponents in succession, taking five for 14. Keighley were hit about for 71 runs in a way that ‘was beyond all praise.’ At Blackburn he