Jack Parker (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
John Frederick 'Jack' Parker (born 23 April 1913 at Battersea
, London
; died 26 January 1983 at Bromley
, Kent
) was an English
cricket
er. He was an all-rounder
and a good slip fielder
, whose long first-class
career with Surrey
linked the days of Jack Hobbs
with those of Peter May.
A tall man, he might have achieved even more than he did but for back trouble. Even so, he was an essential member of the Surrey side for many years. As a batsman, he preferred to attack, and was an especially fine driver of the ball. He was often at his best in a crisis. He reached a thousand runs in a season nine times in succession (1938-1939 and 1946-1952 - this excludes 1945, in which season he played in only one match). His medium-paced bowling was generally steady rather than particularly penetrative. He took 50 or more wickets in a season 5 times, but never managed more than 67.
He never played Test cricket
, although he was picked as a member of the party to India
in 1939-40, for a tour which never took place because of the outbreak of World War II
. The War also deprived him of six of what, judging by his age, might have been expected to be amongst his best seasons.
Most of his best years were after the war, for it was not until 1937 that he became a really valuable member of the side. He had his best season with the ball, in terms of his average, in 1946, taking 56 wickets at only 15.58 each. He made his highest score of 255 in 1949 against the touring New Zealanders, the innings taking only six and a half hours. That season was his best with the bat, both in terms of aggregate (1789) and average (40.65). He finished on a high note, retiring after the 1952 season in which Surrey won the County Championship
outright for the first time since 1914, having shared the title in 1950.
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
; died 26 January 1983 at Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. He was an all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
and a good slip fielder
Slip (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a slip fielder is placed behind the batsman on the off side of the field. They are placed with the aim of catching an edged ball which is beyond the wicket-keeper's reach. Many teams employ two or three slips...
, whose long first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
career with Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
linked the days of Jack Hobbs
Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
with those of Peter May.
A tall man, he might have achieved even more than he did but for back trouble. Even so, he was an essential member of the Surrey side for many years. As a batsman, he preferred to attack, and was an especially fine driver of the ball. He was often at his best in a crisis. He reached a thousand runs in a season nine times in succession (1938-1939 and 1946-1952 - this excludes 1945, in which season he played in only one match). His medium-paced bowling was generally steady rather than particularly penetrative. He took 50 or more wickets in a season 5 times, but never managed more than 67.
He never played Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
, although he was picked as a member of the party to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1939-40, for a tour which never took place because of the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The War also deprived him of six of what, judging by his age, might have been expected to be amongst his best seasons.
Most of his best years were after the war, for it was not until 1937 that he became a really valuable member of the side. He had his best season with the ball, in terms of his average, in 1946, taking 56 wickets at only 15.58 each. He made his highest score of 255 in 1949 against the touring New Zealanders, the innings taking only six and a half hours. That season was his best with the bat, both in terms of aggregate (1789) and average (40.65). He finished on a high note, retiring after the 1952 season in which Surrey won the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
outright for the first time since 1914, having shared the title in 1950.