Homegrown stars of the summer game
THE first recorded game of cricket in Gloucester was played on the “Town Ham” for a stake of 20 guineas on September 22, 1769.
Since then the city has produced many noted players of the summer game, including former England captain Sir Alistair Cook who was born in Gloucester on Christmas day 1984.
Also Gloucester born and a cricket character who will be remembered by many is Bryan Bomber Wells.
A graduate of Gloucester’s Wagon Works team, Wells played for Gloucestershire and later Nottinghamshire in the 1950s.
Portly and cheerful, Wells could never be accused of over exertion on the field of play.
If bowling for a longish spell the spinner often shorted his usual two pace run up to a single step - in the cause of energy conservation.
Wells retired with his tally of first class wickets on 999. When asked why he’d chosen to stop on that threshold figure he replied “Plenty of bowlers have taken 1,000 wickets”.
Born in Gloucester, William Woof, inset, below right was the county’s second professional player and took 100 wickets in his first two seasons (1884 and 1885).
Another Gloucester-born great was Tom Goddard who made his debut for
the county in 1922.
His first class career spanned 30 years, during which time Goddard took 2,862 wickets at an average of 19.58 runs. He also played for England in eight tests.
Right up there with the all time greats is the former county and England wicketkeeper Jack Russell who was born in Stroud. Jack (real name Robert Charles Russell - he picked up the nickname at school) first played for the county in 1981 at the age of 17 while a pupil at Archway Comprehensive.
In his debut match, which was against Sri Lanka at Bristol, Jack made eight dismissals - seven caught and one stumped.
Jack’s first international tour was to Pakistan with England in 1987/ 88. He first appeared in a test at Lords in 1988 v Sri Lanka, when he scored
94.
In 1989 he was Wisden cricketer of the year, the same year in which he notched up his first Test century, achieved against the formidable Australian attack at the Oval in 1989.
In 1996 Jack was awarded the MBE for services to the game and he retired from internationals in 1998 having played in 54 tests. Jack played for his county until well past his 40th birthday and has since gained a considerable reputation as an artist. Alf Dipper is one of many celebrated batsmen produced by Tewkesbury Cricket Club. Between 1908 and 1932 he played for the county side and during this long career scored 53 centuries and 27,948 runs. He carried his bat through an innings on 11 occasions - twice more than even the mighty W G Grace managed - and topped 2,000 runs in a season five times, the best of which was in
1928 when he amassed 2,358 runs.
A contemporary of Alf Dipper was Gilbert Laird Jessop who captained Gloucestershire when W G Grace retired.
Known as The Croucher for his stance at the wicket, Jessop was born in Cambray Place, Cheltenham and was a pupil of the boys’ grammar school.
In the early years of his career, Jessop played for Tewkesbury and on one occasion hit a ball through the pavilion window.
Jessop also played for Burford a few times, on the last of which he struck five balls so far outside the ground that they couldn’t be found.
It was then that Burford had to ask Jessop not to play for them anymore as the cost of replacing the balls lost by his powerful strokes threatened to bankrupt the club.
Jessop’s reputation as one of the hardest hitters of the ball in cricketing history continued at first class level.
At Bristol in 1901 playing for the county against the West Indies he scored 157 in an hour. At the Cheltenham Festival of 1907 he scored 53 in 15 minutes and his 150 highest innings were made at the rate of 82 runs per hour.