Jack Hobbs

Sir John Berry Hobbs was an English professional cricketer. He played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. He is the leading run-scorer and century-maker in first-class cricket with 61,760 runs and 199 centuries.

About Jack Hobbs in brief

Summary Jack HobbsSir John Berry Hobbs was an English professional cricketer. He played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. He is the leading run-scorer and century-maker in first-class cricket, with 61,760 runs and 199 centuries. Hobbs’ success was based on fast footwork, an ability to play many different shots, and excellent placement of the ball. He was among the first batsmen to succeed against previously devastating googly bowlers. His partnership with Herbert Sutcliffe remains the most effective for the first wicket, in terms of average partnership, in Test history. He died in 1963, aged 81, a few months after his wife of 56 years, Ada, who he had married in 1882. His funeral was held at St Paul’s Church, Cambridge, where he was a keen cricket fan. He also played for the Cambridge University cricket team and was a member of the St John’s College cricket team. His son Matthew Hobbs is also a cricket fan and is a former England Test batsman. He has been described as one of the best batsmen in the history of the game. His wife Ada died in 2013, aged 82, and he died in 2012, aged 87. He had a son, John, who was a professional footballer and also played cricket for Surrey and the Surrey County Cricket Club. His grandson, James Hobbs, is a professional cricket batsman and the England Under 21 World Cup winning captain. His great-great-grandson is the England cricket team captain, Ian Botham, who also played Test cricket for England and the South African national team.

He won the ODI World Cup in 1966 and the Cricket World Cup of 1966, and was the first Englishman to win the Golden Glove award for the most runs scored in a single Test match. In his final year at university, Hobbs became an apprentice gas fitter and practised cricket on a common land in the Cambridge area. He worked as an errand boy until his father secured him a summer job as a college servant, chiefly assisting the cricket team at Jesus College, Cambridge. His father was a groundsman and umpire at the university, and in 1889 was appointed groundsman, umpire and groundsman for Jesus College. In 1882, he was born in Cambridge, the first of 12 children to John Cooper Hobbs and his wife Flora Matilda Berry. His first games were played in the streets near his family’s house. In 1903, he qualified to play for Surrey, scoring 88 on his first- class debut and a century in his next game. Over the following seasons, he established himself as a successful county player and in 1908 made his Test debut for England, scoring 83 in his first innings. By 1911–12, when he scored three centuries in the Test series against Australia, critics judged him the world’s best batsman, and his style of play was very successful up until 1914.