Gilbert Jessop - the legendary big hitter.

 Posted by Tony Hutton

Last night  I just happened to watch the live streaming of Worcestershire v Yorkshire in the T20 Blast. Although the coverage was not of the best in terms of camera work and commentary, it was possible to see a remarkable innings by Johnny Bairstow, after suffering a severe ankle injury. Although hopping about on one leg with the services of a runner, who was not really required, he proceeded to hit the ball to all parts, dealing only in sixes and fours to reach a century. One of these sixes was reported to have been the biggest ever seen in the history of the ground at Worcester. It sailed over the stands, over a very busy main road and apparently landed somewhere in Cripplegate Park.

This brings me back to Gilbert Jessop, well known as the biggest hitter in the history of the game. I have recently been re-reading possibly my favourite cricket book entitled 'The Croucher', a biography of the great man written by Gerald Broadribb. The theme of the book is well set out by a quotation from C.B. Fry in the introduction. It reads as follows - 'No man has driven a cricket ball so hard, so high, and so often in so many different directions. No man has ever made cricket so dramatic an entertainment'.

The book relates many incidents from his long career with both Gloucestershire and England, but possibly the one which still catches my attention more than most was a famous match against Yorkshire at Bradford Park Avenue in July 1900 when Jessop pitted his wits against probably the greatest bowler of his time. This was another of my all time heroes, Wilfred Rhodes, who often received the severest of punishment from Jessop, but always backed himself to get him in the end.

Yorkshire were champions in 1900 and did not lose a match during the season, but they came near to losing this one. Yorkshire made 409 on the first day and in reply Gloucester started badly losing five wickets for 116. Jessop then took over and proceeded to make 104 out of 153 in just seventy minutes before being last man out. He hit Rhodes clean over the football stand for six, which in those days were only awarded for hits out of the ground, so that a hit deep into the crowd off Hirst only counted as four.

Gilbert Jessop.

Gloucester then dismissed Yorkshire for 187 leaving themselves 327 to win. Their hopes of victory soon rapidly faded and when Jessop came in again the score was 105-5. However he went onto the attack immediately hitting Rhodes over the football stand again for the biggest hit of the match. He continued in this vein hitting Rhodes over the Horton Park wall for another six and three more into the football ground to reach fifty in only 25 minutes. He reached his century in 59 minutes.

With his score on 106 he was given a life, but celebrated by hitting Haigh onto the football stand roof, which only counted as four. Gloucestershire were now closing the gap rapidly and even after the earlier hammering he had received Wilfred Rhodes returned to the attack with the score on 235, confident still that he could remove the great man. It proved to be the decisive over and went like this.

First ball - cut for four.

Second ball - a hit for six over the clock on the football stand.

Third ball - left alone.

Fourth ball - a hit deep into the spectators on the off side, one of whom caught the ball, but only four runs given.

Fifth ball - six over the football stand.

Sixth ball - another magnificent drive which was sailing over the long off boundary when Tunnicliffe, a giant of a man, ran a long way, leapt in the air, and caught the ball one handed.

No one else could have reached the ball and it would have been another boundary, but Jessop was out. He had scored 139 out of 182 in 95 minutes, of which ten minutes were spent in recovering the ball. Once Jessop was out the end came quickly and Yorkshire won by 40 runs. It was thought that three more overs of Jessop could have won the match and the great roar from the Yorkshire crowd when he was out said it all.