John Cornish White, known as "Farmer" or "Jack", (19 February 1891 – 2 May 1961) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

cricketer Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

who played for

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and England. White was named

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

in 1929. He played in 15 Test matches, and captained England in four of them.

Domestic career

A slow left-arm bowler who used accuracy and variation of pace rather than spin to take wickets, he was a regular player for Somerset from 1913 to 1937, taking 100 wickets a season 14 times. In 1929 and 1930 he also scored more than 1,000 runs, completing the "cricketer's double". Among his county records, he took 16

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

wickets for 83 runs in the match at

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in 1919. He also took all 10 Worcestershire wickets in an innings for 76 runs in 1921 at

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

. His total number of wickets for Somerset, 2,165, is still the county record, as is his number of catches, 393. His career total of 2,355 wickets puts him 16th on the all-time list of wicket-takers. He was captain of Somerset from 1927 to 1931. His Somerset team-mate R. C. Robertson-Glasgow wrote of White's bowling: "besides the length and direction and the variety of flight, he made the ball 'do a little' each way on the truest pitch without any advertisement from his fingers; and he made the ball bounce high even on a wet slow surface, often hitting the splice or near it with the threat of a catch to himself following up, or to silly-point". R. C. Robertson-Glasgow, ''Crusoe on Cricket'', Alan Ross, London, 1966, p. 208.

Test career

White was first picked for England in the difficult 1921 series against the

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...

and was not then selected again for seven years. For the tour of Australia in 1928–29, he was vice-captain to

Percy Chapman Arthur Percy Frank Chapman (3 September 1900 – 16 September 1961) was an English cricketer who captained the England cricket team between 1926 and 1931. A left-handed batsman, he played 26 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 17 ...

and the main bowler in a series that turned into a successful war of attrition. At

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, he bowled 113 overs and five balls, and at

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

he surpassed that, bowling 124 overs and five balls and taking 13 wickets in the match for 256 runs, as England won by just 12 runs. In the final Test of the series, he stood in as captain for the injured Chapman, but lost the Test and so ended England's then-record-equalling run of seven consecutive Test victories. White captained England again in the series against South Africa in 1929: he won once and drew twice. Further Tests followed against Australia in 1930 and in 1930–31 in South Africa, again as vice-captain to Chapman. White was a Test selector in 1929 and 1930 and was president of the Somerset club at the time of his death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Jack 1891 births 1961 deaths England Test cricket captains Somerset cricket captains Wisden Cricketers of the Year People educated at Taunton School England cricket team selectors Somerset County Cricket Club presidents Gentlemen cricketers Cricketers who have taken ten wickets in an innings Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers North v South cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 20th-century English sportsmen English cricketers Somerset cricketers L. G. Robinson's XI cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club South African Touring Team cricketers England Test cricketers People from West Somerset (district) Cricketers from Somerset