Gilbert Jessop
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Gilbert Laird Jessop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
19 May 1874 Cheltenham, England |
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| Died | 11 May 1955 (aged 80) Dorchester, England |
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| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting style | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling style | Right arm fast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut (cap 122) | 15 June 1899 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 10 July 1912 v South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1894–1914 | Gloucestershire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1896–1899 | Cambridge University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1900–1902 | London County | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: Cricinfo, 3 October 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gilbert Laird Jessop (19 May 1874 – 11 May 1955) was an English cricket player, often reckoned to have been the fastest run-scorer cricket has ever known. He was Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1898.
Jessop was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Nicknamed "The Croucher" because of his unusual hunched stance at the crease and though a stocky build at 5'7" and 11 stone, he remained a fast bowler through his career. He was also a powerful driver, cutter and hooker. The Fifth Test at The Oval in August 1902, known as "Jessop's match", highlighed Jessop's ability to play quickly. England had an unlikely one-wicket victory against a quality Australian side who set England 263 to win in the fourth innings. Jessop came to the crease with England at 48 for 5. He scored his first 50 runs in 43 minutes and reached his century in 75 minutes. He was eventually dismissed after 77 minutes for 104, which included 17 fours and an all-run five. Many of the fours had well cleared the boundary, but the laws of cricket in 1902 meant that to obtain six runs the ball had to be hit out of the ground. One of these "fours" was caught on the players' balcony. A newspaper managed to keep a detailed record of his innings, which shows that Jessop reached his hundred off 76 balls – one of the fastest Test centuries of all time.
A genuine all-rounder, in his early days he was a bowler of considerable pace. He could maintain great stamina; however, he suffered a back strain in his debut Test from being over-bowled which plagued his career. (Frith, 2007) Jessop was also a quick fielder, giving Gloucestershire a reputation for strength in the field. His fielding was a matter of great pride to him. In his early days he fielded at cover-point; later he specialised in the position of extra mid-off.
He first played for Gloucestershire in 1894, and a short innings of 30 against the deadly bowling of Mold and Briggs was seen as indicating a promising player. In 1897 when Jessop did the "double" of 1000 runs and 100 wickets, Wisden made him a Cricketer of the Year in 1898, while two years later his two innings against Yorkshire at Bradford both featured scored a century before lunch, making 104 in the first innings in forty minutes and 139 in the second, again reaching his hundred in under an hour.
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