Stanley Jackson (cricketer)

(Redirected from Francis Stanley Jackson)

Sir Francis Stanley Jackson GCSI GCIE KStJ[1] (21 November 1870 – 9 March 1947),[2] known as the Honourable Stanley Jackson during his playing career, was an English cricketer, soldier and Conservative Party politician. He played in 20 Test matches for the England cricket team between 1893 and 1905.

Stanley Jackson
Jackson in 1923
Financial Secretary to the War Office
In office
1922–1923
Preceded byGeorge Frederick Stanley
Succeeded byRupert Gwynne
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office
1923–1926
Preceded byGeorge Younger
Succeeded byJohn Davidson
Governor of Bengal
In office
1927–1932
Preceded byThe Earl of Lytton
Succeeded bySir John Anderson
Member of Parliament for Howdenshire
In office
19151926
Preceded byHenry Harrison-Broadley
Succeeded byWilliam Henton Carver
Personal information
Full name
Francis Stanley Jackson[1]
Born(1870-11-21)21 November 1870
Chapel Allerton, Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Died9 March 1947(1947-03-09) (aged 76)
Hyde Park, London, England
NicknameJacker
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight arm fast-medium
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 82)17 July 1893 v Australia
Last Test16 August 1905 v Australia
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1890–1907Yorkshire
1890–1893Cambridge University
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class
Matches 20 309
Runs scored 1,415 15,901
Batting average 48.79 33.83
100s/50s 5/6 31/76
Top score 144* 160
Balls bowled 1,587 37,516
Wickets 24 774
Bowling average 33.29 20.37
5 wickets in innings 1 42
10 wickets in match 0 6
Best bowling 5/52 8/54
Catches/stumpings 10/– 195/–
Source: Cricinfo, 11 November 2008

Early life edit

Jackson was born in Leeds. His father was William Jackson, 1st Baron Allerton. During Stanley's time at Harrow School his fag was fellow parliamentarian and future Prime Minister Winston Churchill.[1] He went up to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1889.[3]

Cricket career edit

 
Jackson c. 1895

Jackson played for Cambridge University, Yorkshire and England. He spotted the talent of Ranjitsinhji when the latter, owing to his unorthodox batting and his race, was struggling to find a place for himself in the university side, and as captain was responsible for Ranji's inclusion in the Cambridge First XI and the awarding of his Blue. According to Alan Gibson this was "a much more controversial thing to do than would seem possible to us now".[4] He was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1894.

He captained England in five Test matches in 1905, winning two and drawing three to retain The Ashes.[5] Captaining England for the first time, he won all five tosses and topped the batting and bowling averages for both sides, with 492 runs at 70.28 and 13 wickets at 15.46. These were the last of his 20 Test matches, all played at home as he could not spare the time to tour. Jackson still holds the Test record for the most matches in a career without playing away from home.[6][7]

An orthodox batsman with a penchant for forcing strokes in front of square on both sides of the wicket he was regarded as a very sound player of fast bowling. His own bowling was a brisk fast medium, with a good off cutter his main weapon. While his commitments outside of cricket limited the number of games he played he was a key member of the very strong Yorkshire sides who won 6 county championships during his career (although this did include 1901 when Jackson did not appear in the county championship). His performances in 1896 and 1898 in particular showed what his statistics could have been if he had been able to dedicate more time, scoring over 1,000 championship runs at better than 40.00 in each season and taking over 100 wickets across the two seasons at an average of under 20.[8]

He was also the first batsman to be dismissed in the so-called "nervous nineties" on Test debut.[9][10][11]

Gibson wrote of him as a cricketer that he had "a toughness of character, a certain ruthlessness behind the genial exterior... He does not seem to have been a particularly popular man, though he was always a deeply respected one."[4]

He was President of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1921.

Jackson succeeded Lord Hawke as President of Yorkshire County Cricket Club in 1938 after Hawke's death and held the post until his own death in 1947.[12]

Military and political career edit

As a former lieutenant in the Harrow School Volunteers, on 16 January 1900 Jackson was gazetted to a captaincy direct rather than being promoted in the normal way.[13] He was appointed captain in 3rd (1st Royal Lancashire Militia) Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster).[14] He left with his battalion in February 1900 to serve in the Second Boer War,[15] and arrived in South Africa the following month. He transferred to the West Yorkshire Regiment as a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1914.

He was elected as a Member of Parliament at a by-election in February 1915,[16] representing Howdenshire (Yorkshire) until resigning his seat on 3 November 1926.[17] He served as Financial Secretary to the War Office 1922–23. In 1927 he was appointed Governor of Bengal and in that year was knighted with the GCIE and was made a member of the Privy Council. In 1928 while he was Governor of Bengal, he inaugurated The Malda District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd in Malda District of Bengal to promote co-operative movements. He was awarded the KStJ in 1932.

On 6 February 1932, Jackson sidestepped and ducked five pistol shots fired at close range by a girl student named Bina Das in the Convocation Hall of the University of Calcutta. Escaping unharmed and smiling, "[e]ven before the smoke had blown away, the Governor resumed his speech amid cheers."[18] The attacker was tackled and disarmed by Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan Suhrawardy (the first Muslim vice chancellor of the University of Calcutta), who was knighted by the King for his heroism.[19] Later that year, Jackson was appointed GCSI.

Family edit

Jackson married at St. Helen's Church, Welton, East Yorkshire, on 5 November 1902 to Miss Harrison-Broadley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harrison-Broadley, of Welton-House, Brough, Yorkshire.[20]

Funeral edit

 
England team v. Australia, Trent Bridge 1899. Back row: Dick Barlow (umpire), Tom Hayward, George Hirst, Billy Gunn, J T Hearne (12th man), Bill Storer (wkt kpr), Bill Brockwell, V A Titchmarsh (umpire). Middle row: C B Fry, K S Ranjitsinhji, W G Grace (captain), Stanley Jackson. Front row: Wilfred Rhodes, Johnny Tyldesley. Jackson, Hirst and Rhodes are wearing their Yorkshire caps.

Jackson died in London of complications following a road accident.[21] Recalling his funeral, the Bishop of Knaresborough remarked "As I gazed down on the rapt faces of that vast congregation, I could see how they revered him as though he were the Almighty, though, of course, infinitely stronger on the leg side."

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Jackson's obituary in the 1948 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. This gives his full name as Francis Stanley Jackson, whereas Cricinfo and CricketArchive both give his full name as Frank Stanley Jackson. This article uses the name given by Wisden.
  2. ^ "Historical list of MPs: constituencies beginning with H, part 4". Leigh Rayment's House of Commons page. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "Jackson, Francis (or Frank) Stanley (JK889FF)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  4. ^ a b Gibson, Alan (1989). The Cricket Captains of England. Pavilion Books. pp. 91–2. ISBN 978-1-85145-395-5.
  5. ^ Alan Gibson wrote a book about his achievements in that series, published in 1966: Jackson's Year: The Test Matches Of 1905.
  6. ^ Walmsley, Keith (2003). Mosts Without in Test Cricket. Reading, England: Keith Walmsley Publishing Pty Ltd. p. 457. ISBN 0947540067..
  7. ^ "This Week in History: November 17–23". SuperSport official website. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  8. ^ Coldham, James (1989). F.S.Jackson: A Cricketing Biography. The Crowood Press Ltd. ISBN 1852231475.
  9. ^ "Records | Test matches | Batting records | Ninety on debut". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  10. ^ "England v Australia 1893". ESPNcricinfo. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  11. ^ "1st Test: England v Australia at Lord's, Jul 17–19, 1893 | Cricket Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  12. ^ Kilburn, p. 123.
  13. ^ "The Militia Forces". The Manchester Guardian. 30 January 1900. p. 5.
  14. ^ "No. 27156". The London Gazette. 23 January 1900. p. 433.
  15. ^ "The War – Embarcation of Troops". The Times. No. 36064. London. 13 February 1900. p. 11.
  16. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 426. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
  17. ^ Department of Information Services (9 June 2009). "Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1850" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  18. ^ Five shots fired at governor Glasgow Herald, 8 February 1932, p. 11
  19. ^ Bravery Recognised Brisbane Courier 18 February 1932, at Trove
  20. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36918. London. 6 November 1902. p. 8.
  21. ^ Kilburn, p. 122.

Bibliography edit

External links edit

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Howdenshire
1915–1926
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Financial Secretary to the War Office
1922–1923
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairman of the Conservative Party
1923–1926
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Bengal
1927–1932
Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by English national cricket captain
1905
Succeeded by