Jack Mason
Encyclopedia
John Richard Mason was an English
cricket
er who played in 5 Tests
on A.E. Stoddart's 1897/98 tour of Australia. A right-hand bat and right-arm fast-medium pace bowler, Mason played county cricket
for Kent between 1893 and 1919. With a height over six feet, and an attractive, elegantly straight play with the bat, Mason was considered "one of the finest amateur allrounders to play for Kent".
A prolific all-rounder
, Mason excelled as a schoolboy cricketer for Winchester College
, scoring 147 and 71 along with eight wickets in one match against Eton
in 1892. He was described by Wisden in 1898, the year he was named Cricketer of the Year, as "beyond all question the finest batsman turned out in our time by Winchester College." He left the school with a batting average of over 48, and a bowling average of only 18. He went on to play as an amateur for Kent
in 1893, and despite a lacklustre second season became a stalwart performer. He assumed the captaincy in 1898 from incumbent Frank Marchant
, a position he held for five seasons until his career as a solicitor took precedence. He scored 1,662 runs at 53, and took 78 wickets at 19 in 1900, following that with 1,467 runs at 92 wickets in 1901. In all he scored 13,363 runs and took 675 wickets at 21. His highest score of 183 came against Somerset
at Blackheath while he posted an unbeaten 181 against Nottinghamshire
at Trent Bridge. He scored three successive centuries in 1904 against Yorkshire
, Somerset and Essex
.
His brothers, James
and Charles, both played first-class cricket.
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 who played in 5 Tests
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...
on A.E. Stoddart's 1897/98 tour of Australia. A right-hand bat and right-arm fast-medium pace bowler, Mason played county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
for Kent between 1893 and 1919. With a height over six feet, and an attractive, elegantly straight play with the bat, Mason was considered "one of the finest amateur allrounders to play for Kent".
A prolific 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...
, Mason excelled as a schoolboy cricketer for Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, scoring 147 and 71 along with eight wickets in one match against Eton
Eton
Eton commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England.Eton may also refer to:-Places:*Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England*Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States...
in 1892. He was described by Wisden in 1898, the year he was named Cricketer of the Year, as "beyond all question the finest batsman turned out in our time by Winchester College." He left the school with a batting average of over 48, and a bowling average of only 18. He went on to play as an amateur for Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
in 1893, and despite a lacklustre second season became a stalwart performer. He assumed the captaincy in 1898 from incumbent Frank Marchant
Frank Marchant
Frank Marchant was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and an occasional wicket-keeper. He was born in Kent.-Life:...
, a position he held for five seasons until his career as a solicitor took precedence. He scored 1,662 runs at 53, and took 78 wickets at 19 in 1900, following that with 1,467 runs at 92 wickets in 1901. In all he scored 13,363 runs and took 675 wickets at 21. His highest score of 183 came against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
at Blackheath while he posted an unbeaten 181 against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
at Trent Bridge. He scored three successive centuries in 1904 against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
, Somerset and Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
.
His brothers, James
James Mason (cricketer)
James Ernest Mason was an English cricketer. Mason was a right-handed batsman. He was born at Blackheath, Kent and educated at Tonbridge School, where he showed promise as a batsman....
and Charles, both played first-class cricket.