Gilbert Jessop facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Gilbert Jessop

Jessop in 1901
Personal information
Full name	Gilbert Laird Jessop
Born	(1874-05-19)19 May 1874 Cheltenham, England
Died	11 May 1955(1955-05-11) (aged 80) Dorchester, England
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right arm fast
Relations	Gilbert Jessop junior (son)
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 122)	15 June 1899 v Australia
Last Test	10 July 1912 v South Africa
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1894–1914	Gloucestershire
1896–1899	Cambridge University
1900–1902	London County
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 18 493 Runs scored 569 26,698 Batting average 21.88 32.63 100s/50s 1/3 53/127 Top score 104 286 Balls bowled 732 42,442 Wickets 10 873 Bowling average 35.40 22.79 5 wickets in innings 0 41 10 wickets in match 0 4 Best bowling 4/68 8/29 Catches/stumpings 11/– 463/–
Source: Cricinfo, 3 October 2009

Gilbert Laird Jessop (born May 19, 1874 – died May 11, 1955) was a famous English cricket player. Many people believe he was the fastest run-scorer in the history of cricket. He was even named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1898, which is a big honor in cricket.

Gilbert Jessop's Cricket Career

Jessop in 1905

Gilbert Jessop was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He was known as "The Croucher" because of his unusual batting style. He would hunch over when he was ready to hit the ball. Even though he was not very tall (5 feet 7 inches) and quite strong, he was a very fast bowler throughout his career. He was also great at hitting the ball hard and fast.

His Amazing Batting Style

Jessop was famous for scoring runs incredibly quickly. He could hit the ball with great power. In a famous game in August 1902, called "Jessop's match," he showed just how fast he could play. England was playing against a strong Australian team and needed 263 runs to win. England was in trouble, with only 48 runs and 5 players out.

Jessop came to bat and started scoring runs very fast. He reached 50 runs in just 43 minutes! He then scored a century (100 runs) in only 75 minutes. He was eventually out after 77 minutes, having scored 104 runs. This included 17 "fours." Back then, to get six runs, you had to hit the ball completely out of the cricket ground. Many of his "fours" would be sixes today! His century was one of the fastest ever in Test cricket.

A Talented All-Rounder

Jessop was a true "all-rounder," meaning he was good at both batting and bowling. When he was younger, he bowled very fast. He also had amazing energy. However, he got a back injury in his first Test match because he bowled too much. This injury bothered him for the rest of his career.

He was also a very quick fielder. This made the Gloucestershire team known for its strong fielding. Jessop was very proud of his fielding skills. He often played in a position called "extra mid-off."

Early Days and Achievements

Jessop first played for Gloucestershire in 1894. Even in his early games, people could see he was a promising player. In 1897, he achieved a special "double" by scoring over 1,000 runs and taking over 100 wickets in a season. Because of this, Wisden named him a Cricketer of the Year in 1898.

Two years later, in a game against Yorkshire, he scored a century before lunch in both innings! He made 104 runs in 40 minutes in the first innings and 139 runs in the second, reaching his century in under an hour again.

University Cricket and Captaincy

Jessop went to Christ's College, Cambridge in 1896. He played for the Cambridge University team for four seasons and was captain in his last year (1899). He took many wickets in university matches, showing his skill as a bowler.

In 1900, Jessop became the captain and secretary of Gloucestershire. This was his best year, as he scored 2,210 runs and took 104 wickets. He even had his best bowling performance, taking 8 wickets for only 29 runs against Essex.

Later Career and Retirement

After 1901, Jessop's bowling became less fast, but his batting got even better. In 1903, he scored his highest ever innings: 286 runs in just 180 minutes against Sussex. For the next ten years, he was the main batsman for Gloucestershire while also being their captain.

Even after a serious injury in 1909, he continued to be a strong batsman until he stopped being the secretary of Gloucestershire in 1912. He played for a couple more seasons but was not always available. He did not play cricket again after World War I ended.

Highest Scores

Gilbert Jessop scored 53 centuries (100 runs or more) in his career. Five of these were very high scores, over 200 runs:

• 286 runs for Gloucestershire against Sussex in 1903.
• 240 runs for Gloucestershire against Sussex in 1907.
• 234 runs for Gloucestershire against Somerset in 1905.
• 233 runs for an England XI against Yorkshire in 1901.
• 206 runs for Gloucestershire against Nottinghamshire in 1904.

When he scored these centuries, Jessop batted at an amazing speed, averaging 82.7 runs every hour!

Tributes to Gilbert Jessop

Many famous cricketers have praised Gilbert Jessop:

• Richie Benaud said: "Perhaps the best one-day player to have ever lived and never played that form of cricket."
• Sir Jack Hobbs said: "He was undoubtedly the most consistently fast scorer I have seen. He was a big hitter, too, and it was difficult to bowl a ball from which he could not score. He made me glad that I was not a bowler. Gilbert Jessop certainly drew the crowds, too, even more than Bradman, I should say."

Football Career

Besides cricket, Jessop also played football. He played for Gloucester A.F.C. and Cheltenham Town F.C..

Death

Gilbert Jessop passed away on May 11, 1955, in Dorchester, Dorset, England. He was 80 years old.