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SURREY GREATS - JACK HOBBS Serene in temperament and efficient in execution, Sir John Berry Hobbs was the complete batsman; probably the greatest of his generation. Widely referred to as ‘The Master’, Hobbs scored 61,237 runs and 197 centuries in his career – more than any other player in the history of the game. As a batsman Jack Hobbs was graceful and correct with good vision, the judgement of length, the gift of timing and positioning as well as remarkable reserves of concentration. If anything, he was a stronger player on the back foot. He always maintained a steady flow of scoring strokes, even in the most adverse conditions for batting. Hobbs was a brilliant cover fieldsman; often luring batsmen into a false sense of security by allowing them a few singles before making a lightning return to just above the bails where a colleague would be waiting to apply the coup de grace. In his formative years he was also a useful swing bowler. It was in 1905 that ‘Jack’ came to The Oval from Cambridge, thus following in the footsteps of his mentor Tom Hayward. Hobbs and Hayward opened the innings for Surrey successfully in the years leading up to World War I. In 1907 they shared four three-figure stands in a week against Cambridge University and Middlesex. They made 352 together against Warwickshire in 1909 and 313 for the first wicket against Worcestershire in 1913.
As with Sandham for Surrey, Jack Hobbs had the reliable Herbert Sutcliffe as his opening partner for England. Together they were the most successful opening pair in English Test history. In the 1924-25 series against Australia they shared four century partnerships, including 283 in almost equal time in the second confrontation at Melbourne. It was alongside Sutcliffe that Jack made his highest Test innings of 211 against South Africa at Lord’s in 1924 and turned defeat into victory in the 1926 Oval and 1928-29 Melbourne Tests against Australia. He made his very last appearance for England in 1930 at the age of 47. Jack Hobbs’s last season was in 1934, when he averaged 41 in a handful of
appearances. That year he was the only batsman in the country to record a
century against the county champions Lancashire. It was reported that during
that innings Jack Iddon, whilst fielding for the opposition, allowed a shot from
Hobbs to run between his legs for two runs. In apology to the bowler he said: “I
was so engrossed in his footwork that I took my eye off the ball.” – proof that
even at the end of his career Sir Jack Hobbs was still ‘The Master’ of his art. |
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