James Edward Gooden (23 December 1845 – 17 July 1913) was an Australian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er. He played in ten first-class matches for

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

between 1872 and 1893. Born in Brentford, England in 1845, Gooden emigrated with his parents to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1848, where his father became one of the first basket makers in the colony."An Old-Time Cricketer", ''The Journal'' (Adelaide), 18 July 1913, p. 2.

Club cricket

Called "a good batsman and field", Gooden made his senior Adelaide club debut in 1861 with the Eastern Suburban club before moving to Norwood Cricket Club, scoring 3427 runs at 23.63 for Norwood until his retirement in 1896.Sando, p. 89. He was a Norwood delegate to the first ever

South Australian Cricket Association The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) is the peak body for the sport of cricket in South Australia. The association administers the Southern Redbacks based in Adelaide. SACA is the controlling body for the South Australian Grade Cri ...

(SACA) Committee of Management meeting on 5 July 1871 and played in the first ever match organised by SACA. Chosen in the "British born" team against the "Colonial born" team, the match commenced on 11 November 1872 at the Saint Peter's College Ground (the Adelaide Oval was not yet ready for matches).Harte, p. 36. Gooden was heavily involved in coaching young cricketers and Australian

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

George Giffen George Giffen (27 March 1859 – 29 November 1927) was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. An all-rounder who batted in the middle order and often opened the bowling with medium-paced off-spin, Giffen captained Australia ...

would later claim that Gooden's coaching and encouragement was an important factor in his success. Gooden did not score a district century until aged 45 when he scored two in succession, including 147 in a match against North Adelaide, when he and George Giffen put on 365 for the fourth wicket. Playing for Norwood, Gooden won a record 16 premierships in the Adelaide district competition and was Norwood's long serving captain until controversially ousted by George Giffen in a change room coup.

First-class career

Gooden was one of three South Australians chosen in a combined colonies team (players from New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania) to play Victoria at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting Boxing Day 1872. This was subsequently recognised as a first-class match, meaning that Gooden was one of the first South Australians to play first-class cricket, as it would be five years before South Australia played their initial first-class match. Gooden scored three in his only innings. Gooden captained South Australia on six occasions and played into his forties, with his highest first-class score 39 against

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1890/91."Obituaries", ''Cricket'', 2 May 1914, p. 112. His final first-class match, against

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

was at Adelaide Oval on 27-28 March 1893. Captaining South Australia and scoring four in his only innings, Gooden, at age 47 years and 95 days, remains the second oldest South Australian cricketer (behind

Clarrie Grimmett Clarence Victor "Clarrie" Grimmett (25 December 1891 – 2 May 1980) was a New Zealand-born Australian cricketer. He is thought by many to be one of the finest early spin bowlers, and usually credited as the developer of the flipper. Early l ...

, who was 49 years and 62 days in his final match). Gooden had less success as a bowler, being called for throwing while playing for a SACA XI against Northern Yorke Peninsula in 1877/78.

Personal life

Outside of cricket, Gooden had a varied career, working at various times as a real estate agent, for the

South Australian Gas Company The South Australian Gas Company (later known as SAGASCO) was formed in 1861 twenty-five years after the colony of South Australia was first settled. The establishment of gasworks from 1863 provided not only industry and employment but also stree ...

, and, with his brother Charles, licensee of the Napoleon Hotel on King William Street, Adelaide. He was also a crack rifle shot, captaining South Australia in interstate shooting championships. Gooden was a member of the Norwood Voluntary Fire Brigade, a long-time Secretary of the Norwood Working Man's Club and a Master of the Emulation Lodge of Freemasons. Gooden's obituary in ''Cricket'' magazine stated that "he fell upon evil days during the latter part of his life", suffering a nervous breakdown and heart trouble and was reduced to living in "a dreadfully run-down boarding house. He was the recipient of a large testimonial raised by old cricketers shortly before his death. Gooden died on 17 July 1913, leaving a widow, two sons and two daughters. Gooden's brother Henry Gooden and nephew Leslie Gooden also played cricket for South Australia, while another brother, George Gooden, was the first curator of the

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby le ...

and Town Clerk of Kensington and Norwood."Obituary", ''Adelaide Observer'', 9 April, 1904, p. 34.

References

Sources

* Harte, C. (1990) ''The History of the South Australian Cricket Association'', South Australian Cricket Association: Adelaide. ISBN 09587980 3 6. * Page, R. (1984) ''South Australian Cricketers 1877–1984'', Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians: Retford, Nottinghamshire. * Sando, G. (1997) ''Grass Roots: 100 years of Adelaide District Cricket 1897-1997'', SACA: Adelaide. ISBN 9781862544352.

External links