James "Jemmy" Dean (4 January 1816 – 25 December 1881) was an English first-class

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 with professional status. Mainly associated with Sussex, he is recorded in 305 matches from 1835 to 1861 which are designated first-class by ''CricketArchive'', totalling 5,115 runs at an average of 10.54 with a highest score of 99, holding 206 catches and taking 1,144 wickets with a best analysis of 9/34. Dean achieved

5 wickets in an innings In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Taking ...

86 times and

10 wickets in a match In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bow ...

18 times. His nephews

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and

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 (disambiguati ...

, both played first-class cricket.

Career

Dean was a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

but was more notable as a bowler. He bowled right arm fast with a roundarm action. A good fielder, he occasionally played as a

wicketkeeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the batsman out and run out ...

. Although primarily a Sussex player, Dean played for numerous other teams but especially for the

United All-England Eleven The United All-England Eleven (UEE) was an English cricket team formed in 1852 by players breaking away from William Clarke's All-England Eleven (AEE). Key UEE players included John Wisden and Jemmy Dean, who became joint secretaries of the team ...

(UEE), from 1853 to 1858, of which he was the co-founder with his friend

John Wisden John Wisden (5 September 1826 – 5 April 1884) was an English cricketer who played 187 first-class cricket matches for three English county cricket teams, Kent, Middlesex and Sussex. His father, William, was a builder. He attended Brighton's M ...

. Formerly, from 1848 to 1852, he had represented the

All-England Eleven In English cricket since the first half of the 18th century, various ''ad hoc'' teams have been formed for short-term purposes which have been called England (or sometimes "All-England"; i.e., in the sense of "the rest of England") to play against, ...

(AEE). In ''Scores & Biographies'',

Arthur Haygarth Arthur Haygarth (4 August 1825 – 1 May 1903) was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians. He played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Sussex between 1844 and 1861, as well as num ...

describes Dean as "very stout for a cricketer" because he weighed 12 stone though his height was only 5 foot 7 inches. Dean's pace, says Haygarth, was "always straight and ripping, his balls getting up remarkably quick". He was a

sawyer *A sawyer (occupation) is someone who saws wood. *Sawyer, a fallen tree stuck on the bottom of a river, where it constitutes a danger to boating. Places in the United States Communities *Sawyer, Kansas *Sawyer, Kentucky * Sawyer, Michigan * Saw ...

by trade and nicknamed "by some" as "The Ploughboy". Dean was engaged by MCC as a bowler in 1837 and remained ''in situ'' till he resigned at the end of the 1861 season. Haygarth, a contemporary, recounts that Dean began the UEE in 1852 "in conjunction with Wisden" and that his likeness, by John Corbett Anderson (see graphic) has been published by

Fred Lillywhite Frederick Lillywhite (7 July 1829 – 15 September 1866) was a sports outfitter and cricketing entrepreneur, who organised the first overseas cricket tour by an English team and published a number of reference works about cricket. Cricketing dyn ...

Harry Altham Harry Surtees Altham (30 November 1888 – 11 March 1965) was an English cricketer who became an important figure in the game as an administrator, historian and coach. His ''Wisden'' obituary described him as "among the best known personalities ...

mentions Dean's "splendid work" for Sussex,

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) and the AEE before (importantly to Altham) Dean was in 1862 engaged as a coach at

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 ...

. Altham then relates that Dean and Wisden founded the UEE in 1852 as a result of "profound dissatisfaction" with William Clarke's management of the AEE. Several leading players such as Jem Grundy and

John Lillywhite John Lillywhite (born 10 November 1826 at Hove, Sussex; died 27 October 1874 at St Pancras, London) was an English cricketer and umpire during the game's roundarm era. John Lillywhite was part of a famous cricketing family, his father bein ...

joined them and Dean and Wisden became the joint secretaries of the UEE. In his ''Phoenix History'',

Roy Webber Roy Webber (died 14 November 1962 aged 48) was a British cricket scorer and statistician. After World War II, in which he served with the Royal Air Force, he decided to turn what had been his hobby into his profession. He had the necessary profi ...

says that interest in the AEE "dropped to reasonable proportions" after the initial sensation and offshoots began to appear, the first being Dean and Wisden's UEE in 1852 with "other sides to follow".

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Jemmy 1816 births 1881 deaths English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 All-England Eleven cricketers Fast v Slow cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Gentlemen of Nottinghamshire cricketers Married v Single cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club and Metropolitan Clubs cricketers Nicholas Felix's XI cricketers Non-international England cricketers North v South cricketers Over 30s v Under 30s cricketers Petworth cricketers Players cricketers Sussex cricketers United All-England Eleven cricketers People from Duncton