Don Bradman's name is almost as famous as the game itself. But, for an all-too-brief time at the start of his international career, it appeared likely that
Although he was a year younger, Archie Jackson burst onto the cricket world a year before Bradman. He made his first-class bow aged 17, scoring 86 on his debut and exactly a hundred in his second outing a week later.
It was Bradman, however, who played for
the infamous Bodyline series in 1932-33,
He toured
But while Bradman, whose career was also blighted by illness, went from strength to strength,
A hundred at
But
He was picked for the first NSW match of 1931-32 but was caught in a rainstorm, and collapsed in his hotel room coughing up blood shortly before the team left for the ground. He was rushed to hospital, but believing he had flu, discharged himself.
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At the insistence of the Australian board he was taken to a sanatorium but proved a poor patient. Restless, he often sneaked off into
He resumed playing grade cricket in
Still, buoyed by newspaper reports, the public clamoured for him to be included in one of the representative sides to meet the MCC. Those close to him knew his body would never hold up to the strain.
He started writing articles for Brisbane's Daily Mail and told friends he harboured a belief that he would be fit enough to return to England on Australia's 1934 tour.
He was still playing for his club at the start of 1933, but by then he was so breathless than he had to use a runner. His last innings was on January 22. With his former NSW team-mate Cassie Andrews running for him, he made 77 in 94 minutes, telling a friend that he was "still in pretty good form".
On February 1, almost four years to the day since his Test debut, he collapsed again and was rushed to hospital. The tuberculosis had spread to both lungs, and his family, still in
On February 10 the fourth Test started a few miles down the road at the Gabba. A number of players visited him before and during the match but it was clear he was dying. On February 15, with
That day he lapsed in and out of consciousness. Shortly after midnight he asked for the Test score and was told
With flags flying at half-mast, the teams took to the field at the Gabba later that morning wearing black armbands.
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Forgotten genius
He was rated better than Bradman, scored 164 on his Ashes debut for Australia
He made a sensational Test debut in the Ashes for
Archie Jackson, the third of four children by Sandy and Margaret, was born in Rutherglen on September 5, 1909. His father, trying to support a growing family and having spent part of his formative years in
Sport was part of
Archie was also a useful footballer, but as he lived just 100 yards from
In his book Archie Jackson, The Keats of Cricket, David Frith describes the day that the cricket-mad Jackson and his mates experienced Test cricket for the first time when
“They wagged off school at lunchtime, hopped on to a hearse on its way to the city, and spent their threepence lunch money to get into the ground, where they watched the international stars play and went hungry.” The experience left a lasting impression on the 11-year-old boy and gave him the desire to succeed at cricket.
Blessed with a natural batting ability, his style and elegance put many in mind of the legendary Victor Trumper who had dominated the Australian scene for a decade and a half.
In 1924, he made his first-grade debut for Balmain only one month after his 15th birthday. The stick-thin lad with the over-sized pads and a full-size bat may have looked a comical sight, but he quickly won the respect of the opposition attack and the crowd, displaying the guts and courage to go with his ability.
In the build-up to his debut for New South Wales in 1926, he came up against another precocious teenager from the rural town of Bowral who was creating his own wave of anticipation — Don Bradman. Although a year younger than the Bowral Boy,
On that NSW debut against
It wasn’t until the crucial 1928-29 season that Bradman, for the first time, eased ahead in the pecking order, securing a place in an ageing Australian side for the first Test against
It was a blisteringly hot day,but he went on to finish on 164, destroying the English attack with some exquisite shots. At the end, he left the field to a standing ovation.
Despite those heroics,
Once in
Archie also caught up with uncle James and his family in Scotland, and although he was not called upon to bat in Australia’s official match with Scotland at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh, a couple of days later he was delighted to get a chance at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, only a few miles from his birthplace. At the time, Bradman was fresh from his world record 334 in the third Test at
Spoiled by Bradman’s fireworks, the crowd then goodnaturedly barracked their own cricket hero, who took it in good humour and went on to make a solid 52 not out.
Dropped for the fourth Test,
But his was a brief career.
By the end of the year, although he was so ill he could only watch from the sidelines, he still managed to write about the infamous 1932-33 Bodyline series for the Daily Mail. But during the fourth Test on February 10, 1933, he collapsed and was admitted to the
Hours later,
The Archie Jackson story
Harold Larwood
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When first approached to write a foreword I politely refused. However, it was explained by this persistent fellow that he had spent considerable time researching on a cricketer he believed I must have admired. I asked who this could be? His reply left me humbled, for it was none other than Archie Jackson.
It hit me just about as hard as Archie did that day at Adelaide in 1929 when, in his first Test innings for Australia, with 97 runs against his name and having had his back to the wall, he cover-drove me to bring up his hundred. That ball was delivered as fast as any I had ever bowled previously.
That glorious stroke has lived in my memory to this day for its ease and perfect timing. I am sure that few among the many thousands present sighted the ball as it raced to the boundary.
I personally had a very great admiration for Archie, and I am sure we `Poms' counted him as one of us. He never failed to congratulate the bowler or fieldsman whenever he was dismissed by a good ball, and at the same time he would be the first to let you know when he thought you were not bowling so well. He would say: `You must have had a late one last night, Harold!'
He was always friendly, no matter the tenseness of the situation - you just had to find a place in your heart for a fellow like him. The respect he showed for others grew on you.
I remember once, in
I never knew him to flinch or complain at any time.
No, Archie Jackson, like his hero Victor Trumper, was born to be great, and great he was, for he received the same respect from us `Poms' as from his own team.
But we had a feeling that something was amiss with this young fellow in 1930. Those of us who were closely associated with him knew that the English climate did not suit him; he was not himself. He still batted with the same charm that only he was capable of, but it was apparent that he was not the same Archie as that of 1928-29.
One of my most cherished possessions to this day is a personal telegram sent to me by Archie while undoubtedly a very sick boy in Brisbane; it congratulated me on my bowling in that controversial Test of 1933. At the time he must have been very close to meeting his Maker, but he was still conscious enough to remember an old friend.
I remember also a number of us Englishmen visiting Archie in the private hospital in
It was hard to believe. We knew that our loss was
Adapted from The Archie Jackson Story by David Frith, published in 1974 in a limited edition of 1000, and out of print since 1975.
Archie Jackson
Australia
Full name Archibald Jackson
Born September 5, 1909, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Died February 16, 1933, Clayfields, Brisbane, Queensland (aged 23 years 164 days)
Major teams
Also known as Archibald Alexander Jackson
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Education Rozelle School
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 | 6s | Ct | St | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 8 | 11 | 1 | 474 | 164 | 47.40 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| First-class | 70 | 107 | 11 | 4383 | 182 | 45.65 | 11 | 23 | 26 | 0 |
| Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| First-class | 70 | 86 | 49 | 0 | - | - | - | 3.41 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Test debut | Australia v England at Adelaide, Feb 1-8, 1929 scorecard |
| Last Test | Australia v West Indies at Melbourne, Feb 13-14, 1931 scorecard |
| Test statistics | |
| First-class span | 1926/27 - 1930/31 |
| Notes |
| Profile |
There are those who argue to this day that had he lived, Archie Jackson would have rivaled Don Bradman as the greatest batsman off all time. Jackson's death from tuberculosis at the tragically young age of 23 meant that he gave only glimpses of what might have been. Jackson was a graceful batsman, his innings punctuated by delicate leg-glances, wristy flicks through the covers and exquisite footwork. He made his debut for New South Wales at the age of 17, and within a year was touring New Zealand with Australia, although he had to wait until the fourth Ashes Test of 1928-29 to make his Test debut. In it he hit 164 and a remarkable career beckoned. He struggled for form on the 1930 tour of England, his courageous 73 at The Oval when he added 243 for the fourth wicket with Bradman a rare highlight. But his successes were made against the backdrop of his failing health, and his appearances grew rarer. He died on February 16, 1933, the day that England regained the Ashes in the Bodyline series.
Martin Williamson
Wisden obituary
JACKSON, MR. ARCHIBALD, the New South Wales and Australian Test cricketer, died at Brisbane on February 16, the day that England defeated Australia and regained the Ashes, at the early age of 23. His passing was not only a very sad loss to Australian cricket in particular but to the cricket world in general. A native of Scotland, where he was born on September 5, 1909, he was hailed as a second Victor Trumper--a comparison made alike for his youthful success, elegant style and superb stroke play. Well set up, very active on his feet, and not afraid to jump in to the slow bowlers and hit the ball hard, he accomplished far more in big cricket than Trumper had done at his age. He first attracted attention when at school at Balmain, Sydney, and later at the Roselle School. So quickly did he mature that, at the age of seventeen, he gained an assured place in the New South Wales team. In his first season of Sheffield Shield cricket he scored 464 runs at an average of 58; next year he achieved a feat no other batsman of his age had performed, by making two centuries in a match--131 and 122 against South Australia. For a time Jackson had something of a reputation of being a second innings batsman, for often he failed at his first attempt and then made a good score in the second innings. This weakness, however, he overcame and he soon established himself as an opening batsman for New South Wales. Given his place in the Australian team when the M.C.C. side, under the captaincy of Mr. A. P. F. Chapman, toured Australia in 1928-29, Jackson, on his first appearance in Test cricket against England, made a hundred--the youngest player to do so. This was at Adelaide where in the Fourth Test Match, which England won by 12 runs, he scored 164. For sheer brilliance of execution his strokes during this delightful display could scarcely have been exceeded. He reached three figures with a glorious square drive off Larwood in the first over after lunch and was one of the very few Australian batsmen who during that tour could successfully jump in and drive J. C. White. An innings of 182 in the Australian Test Trial--regarded as the finest he ever played--made certain of his inclusion in the team which visited England in 1930. Unfortunately, English cricket lovers did not in that tour see Jackson at his best, for although he scored over 1,000 runs he failed to reveal his true form until towards the end of the summer. Then, in the final Test Match at the Oval, he put together a score of 73 and helped Bradman in a partnership of 243 for the fourth wicket which still stands as a record in a Test Match between Australia and England. Jackson, of course, never saw Trumper play, but Kippax, in style and stance and in some strokes, was not unlike Trumper; and Jackson, consciously or unconsciously, and while giving full play to his natural tendencies, took Kippax as his model. He had a splendid return from the deep field and, if not so fast a runner as Bradman, covered ground very quickly. His later years were marred by continued ill-health and his untimely end was not unexpected. While lying in hospital on what was to prove his death-bed he was married*.
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
* This is incorrect - he got engaged while in hospital.
