John Richard Mason (26 March 1874 – 15 October 1958), known as Jack Mason, was an English amateur

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 who played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for

Kent County Cricket Club Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ke ...

between 1893 and 1914, captaining the team between 1898 and 1902. He played for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in five

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

on A. E. Stoddart's 1897–98 tour of Australia. Over six feet tall, Mason was a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

and right-arm fast-medium pace bowler, classified as a genuine

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

. ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' considered him to be "one of the finest amateur all-rounders to play for Kent".Mason, Mr John Richard
Obituaries in 1958, ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', 1959. Retrieved 2016-04-07. Mason was chosen as one of the five

Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1898.

Early life

Mason was born in

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

, then part of the county of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, one of seven brothers and three sisters.Lazenby J (2005) ''Test of Time''. London: John Murray. . His father, Richard, had played for

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

before the county gained

status and worked as a solicitor.Lewis P (2014) ''For Kent and Country'', pp.260–261. Brighton: Reveille Press. . His mother, Ann, was the daughter of John Eagleton.Waineright JB ed (1907) ''Winchester College, 1836-1906 : a register'', p.453. Winchester: Winchester College.
Available online
. His brothers,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, both played some first-class cricket and three other brothers were also "devoted to the game", all playing for Beckenham Cricket Club. Mason attended Abbey School in

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...

before going on to

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

where he was a prolific batsman,

averaging In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

48 and 55 in his final two years at the school.'Mr. J. R. Mason' ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 1958-10-18, p.8.JR Mason - Cricketer of the Year 1898
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', 1898. Retrieved 2016-04-07. He scored 147 and 71 and took eight wickets in one match against

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

in 1892. He was described by ''Wisden'' in 1898, the year he was named as one of its Cricketers of the Year, as "beyond all question the finest batsman turned out in our time by Winchester College."

Cricketing career

Mason went on to play as an amateur for

, making his debut in 1893 after leaving school in a

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

match against

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

Foxgrove Road Foxgrove Road, Beckenham is a sports ground in Beckenham in the London Borough of Bromley. The ground is home to Beckenham Cricket Club, a multi-sports club, and has been used as a first-class cricket venue and hosted the Kent Championships, a te ...

in July.First-class matches played by Jack Mason
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-04-07. Despite a lacklustre second season, he became a stalwart performer for the County and gave "splendid all-round service". He played regularly for Kent between 1894 and 1902, scoring over 1,000 runs each season from 1895.
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-04-07. He took over the Kent captaincy in 1898 from

Frank Marchant Francis Marchant (22 May 1864 – 13 April 1946), known as Frank Marchant, was an English amateur cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman, an occasional wicket-keeper and the captain of Kent County Cricket Club from 1890 to 1897. Early life M ...

, a position he held for five seasons until his career as a solicitor took precedence,Pinky Burnup - Cricketer of the Year 1903
''Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack'', 1903. Retrieved 2016-03-20. although he captained the side on the field during the final month of the 1909 season when Kent won the

.Obituary - Edward Dillon
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', 1942. Retrieved 2016-03-21. Mason toured Australia in 1897–98 as part of the

England cricket team The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. Engla ...

's tour. He played in all five

, his only appearances for the England team. Mason performed well at the start of the tour but endured "a long spell of bad luck" and did not live up to expectations.England in Australia, 1897–98
''

'', 1899. Retrieved 2016-04-07. He averaged 12.90 batting and took two wickets in the Test matches, although he scored a century for the side in a first-class match against Victoria in Melbourne and averaged 39.33 with the bat in first-class matches on the tour.First-class batting and fielding for each team by Jack Mason
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-04-07. Mason's letters written during the tour later formed the basis of ''Test of Time'', a book about the tour written by Mason's grandson John Lazenby.Hoult

CricInfo. Retrieved 2016-04-07. Mason played in the four Kent County Championship winning sides of the years leading up to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and played his final game for the County in 1914. He made one first-class appearance after the war, for LG Robinson's XI against the

Australian Imperial Force Touring XI When the First World War ended in November 1918, thousands of Australian servicemen were in Europe as members of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and many remained until the spring of 1919. In England, a new first-class cricket seas ...

in 1919 at

Old Buckenham Hall Old Buckenham Hall School (commonly known as OBH) is a day and boarding preparatory school with pre-prep for boys and girls in the village of Brettenham, Suffolk, England. Founded in 1862, the school has been on its current site since 1956, ...

in Norfolk. In total he played 300 times for Kent, scoring over 15,000 runs and taking 769 wickets. His highest score of 183 came against

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

while, in 1899, he posted an unbeaten 181 against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

in an unbroken partnership of 321 with

Alec Hearne Alec Hearne (22 July 1863 – 16 May 1952) was a member of the famous cricketing Hearne family. He played as a professional for Kent County Cricket Club between 1884 and 1906 and made one Test match appearance for England. He was an all-round ...

. This partnership, which was the highest in the county's history until 1934, remained a Kent record for the third wicket which stood until 2005.Foot D (2005
Surrey docked eight points for ball tampering
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 2005-05-28. Retrieved 2016-04-06.Families of former players receive club caps in ceremony
, Kent County Cricket Club, 2015-06-28. Retrieved 2016-04-06. As of February 2018 it remains the sixth highest partnership in Kent's history for any wicket. He scored three successive centuries in 1904 against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, Somerset and

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and appeared 11 times for the Gentlemen against the Players. After the 1902 season Mason's father told him he was no longer prepared to pay for his son's cricket career, and that it was time he joined the family firm. Mason played less often thereafter, but was still offered the captaincy of the English team to tour South Africa in 1905–06. He declined, and

Pelham Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport in ...

captained the team.Lazenby, ''Test of Time'', pp. 15–19.

Style of play

With a height of over six feet, Mason generally played forward when batting, driving cleanly and powerfully. His ''Wisden'' obituary describes his batting style as "so straight a bat that he was always worth watching". He was equally at home on slow, turning wickets and he averaged 33.27 in first-class cricket. Mason was also an accomplished fast-medium paced bowler and was considered an excellent slip fielder.

Military service

Despite being over the age for compulsory military service at the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Mason volunteered in 1917 for service in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

(RNVR).Lewis ''Op. cit.'' p.262–263. He was commissioned as a

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

in the

Hydrophone A hydrophone ( grc, ὕδωρ + φωνή, , water + sound) is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates an electric potenti ...

Service and posted first to HMS ''Tarlair'', the service's main research and training base at

Aberdour Aberdour (; Scots: , gd, Obar Dobhair) is a scenic and historic village on the south coast of Fife, Scotland. It is on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, looking south to the island of Inchcolm and its Abbey, and to Leith and Edinburgh beyo ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

.Maxwell D (2014) ''Listen Up!''. Aberdour: Aberdour Cultural Association.
Available online
. He was posted to one of the Hydrophone shore stations at

Freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

and, in 1918, promoted to Lieutenant. He volunteered to serve in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

in April 1918 but was considered too important to be spared by the Hydrophone Service which was playing a crucial role in combatting German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

attacks. He was demobilised in January 1919.

Later life

Mason's career was as a solicitor, working at Mason and Co in

High Holborn High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and Sou ...

in London.Waineright ''Op. cit.'', p.472. Like many amateur cricketers of the time, the time required for his profession reduced his playing time but he remained involved with Kent cricket until he moved away from the county in 1939. He was a member of the county's General Committee from 1919 and served as the club's president in 1938. He played for and was involved in the Band of Brothers club, closely associated with Kent's county team. He died at his home in Cooden Beach in

in 1958 aged 84.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Jack 1874 births 1958 deaths England Test cricketers Military personnel from Kent English cricketers Kent cricketers Kent cricket captains Wisden Cricketers of the Year Gentlemen cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers North v South cricketers L. G. Robinson's XI cricketers A. E. Stoddart's XI cricketers A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War I