‘Mad Jack’ Flavell – cricket for Worcestershire, football for Albion
Fast-bowling son of Wall Heath who became a county legend
RECENTLY a friend of mine, Alan Hughes, loaned me a copy of the 1956 Worcestershire County Cricket Club Year Book, which was priced at one shilling.
As was the norm the Year Book recorded the scores, plus a report of all of the County’s matches in the previous season – 1955 when our late Queen
A gifted all-round sportsman, Jack attracted the attention of Manchester United
Elizabeth was in the third year of what was to become an incredible seventy-year reign. I was in the first of my teenage years with my thoughts dominated by playing and watching cricket and football (OK I admit that girls had started to invade the space).
The Year Book, although of general interest, drew me to one particular County Championship game played in August at Dover against Kent, which Worcestershire won by 52 runs. The game was particularly significant for Worcestershire pace bowler, Wall Heath’s own Jack Flavell. Although the Year Book refers to him as John he was always known as Jack and had acquired the nickname of “Mad Jack” earlier in his career because his bowling, whilst fast, had not acquired the control that he later achieved.
Anorak that I am, I distinctly remember that I was on holiday with my parents in Weymouth. Daily ritual demanded that I ventured out before breakfast to purchase a newspaper from the nearby newsagents. It goes without saying that I always read the newspaper starting at the back page, and having checked the cricket scores I ran back to the boarding house, burst into the dining room and loudly exclaimed to my parents and the astonished other diners, “Jack took 9-30 yesterday!”
Jack’s figures on that memorable day constituted the best bowling performance in first class cricket that season, and won him £100 (in today’s money the equivalent would be over £2,000). It also won him the County’s award for the season for which he was presented with a cup.
In the game in question Jack scored 29 in Worcestershire’s second innings, which at that point was his highest score in first class cricket. The long journey to Dover, which was prior to motorways, was certainly worthwhile for him. If any fellow cricket enthusiasts find themselves in Dover and nostalgically consider visiting the scene of Jack’s triumph they will find white flannelled ghosts traipsing the aisles of the supermarket which long ago was built on the cricket ground.
Jack had a long and successful career with Worcestershire which spanned twenty years, and played a significant part in the Championship-winning sides of 1964 and 1965. That supremely talented squad were skippered by another lad from The Black Country, Don Kenyon, who was born in Wordsley.
In 1965 Jack was honoured to be one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year, the others being Geoffrey Boycott and the Australians, Peter Burge, Graham Mckenzie and Bobby Simpson – what a line up of world class cricketers.
On retirement Jack had taken over 1,500 wickets for the county. Playing in the same era as Brian Statham and Fred Trueman resulted in Jack’s recognition at international level being limited to just four appearances for his country, all in Ashes Series against Australia, two in 1961 and two in 1964.
Jack was a gifted all-round sportsman. Having started his football career with Stourbridge he attracted the attention of scouts from Manchester United but after impressing in trial games his hopes of a career at Old Trafford were thwarted because Stourbridge refused to release him from the contract he had signed for them as a part-time professional. Later Stourbridge accepted an offer from West Bromwich Albion and he happily moved to The Hawthorns.
Wow! Playing for Worcestershire AND Albion – no wonder he became my all-time sporting hero. During that period my father took my newly acquired autograph book to Jack’s home and he readily agreed to start me on my way to what was to become a lifetime hobby as a collector of autographs, by obtaining the signatures of all of the players from my two favourite sports teams.
Jack left Albion and joined Walsall, for whom he made 30-plus Football League appearances before retiring to concentrate on his burgeoning cricket career.
Post-cricket and turning his attention to golf, Jack became captain at Enville and often recalled that as a youngster he would cycle along the country lanes by the club’s fairways with his father, who would warn him “it’s no good you looking, you will never play there!”
Together with his wife, Marie, Jack entered the restaurant trade, taking over The Rafters at Heathton, near Claverley. I am sure that I am not the only diner who ordered “The Cricketers Grill,” which inevitably could not be finished and resulted in a request for a doggy bag for the uneaten part of the meal.
Jack and Marie later kept a hotel in Barmouth, where Jack passed away in 2004 at the age of 74.
Jack’s obituary in Wisden included the reflection that “Jack’s life was like his bowling – straightforward with no frills”
John Alfred Flavell, Wall Heath’s finest.