Jack Bancroft (9 October 1879 – 7 January 1942),
Scrum.com born John Bancroft, was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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 striki ...

er, and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

international. He was a right-handed batsman and a wicket-keeper who played for

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

. Bancroft also played rugby for

Swansea RFC Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premiership. The club play at St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea and are also known as ''The Whites,'' in reference to their home kit colours. History ...

.Smith (1980), pg 463. He was born and died in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

. Bancroft's brother,

Billy Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a youn ...

, was a

rugby international and the first paid professional for the Glamorgan cricketing side. His father William was groundsman at St. Helen's rugby and cricket ground, and Jack showed great interest and skill in both cricket and rugby from an early age.

Rugby career

As well as playing for Swansea at club level, Bancroft was capped eighteen times for the

Welsh national team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Gareth Bal ...

. He gained his first international cap in 1909 replacing the injured

Bert Winfield Herbert Benjamin Winfield (5 May 1878 – 21 September 1919) was an English rugby union player who played international rugby for Wales national rugby union team, Wales. He was a member of the victorious Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All B ...

.Smith (1980), pg 198. against England. During Bancroft's career he scored 19 points against France in the 1910 international, at the time a record for a Welsh player in a single match.Smith (1980), pg 383. His final game for Wales was against France in 1914.

International matches

Wales * 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1914 * 1909, 1910, 1911, 1914 * 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913 * 1909, 1910, 1912, 1914

Cricket career

Jack Bancroft was wicket-keeper for Swansea, and played Minor Counties Cricket for Glamorgan as early as 1908. Bancroft was called up to the Glamorgan first team on nine occasions during the 1922 season before hanging up his gloves. Bancroft was a tailend batsman alongside teammate Jack Nash.

Bibliography

References

External links

Jack Bancroft
at Cricket Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Bancroft, Jack 1879 births 1942 deaths Cricketers from Swansea Glamorgan cricketers Rugby union players from Swansea Rugby union fullbacks Swansea RFC players Wales rugby union captains Wales international rugby union players Welsh cricketers Welsh rugby union players Wicket-keepers