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Full name | John William Hearne | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born |
Hillingdon, England |
11 February 1891|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 14 September 1965 West Drayton, England |
(aged 74)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname | Young Jack | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting style | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling style | Right arm leg break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Test debut (cap 172) | 15 December 1911 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last Test | 15 June 1926 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1909–1936 | Middlesex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 29 September 2009
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John William Hearne (known as Jack Hearne, J.W. Hearne and Young Jack to distinguish him from his distant cousin,J.T. Hearne) (11 February 1891–14 September 1965) was a Middlesex leg-spinning all-rounder cricketer who played from 1909 to 1936, and represented England in 24 Test matches between 1911 and 1926.
A skilful right-handed batsman, Hearne was exceptionally straight and a master at placing the ball into gaps. He was not an aggressive batsman, but his skill allowed him to score at quite an efficient rate against the best bowling. He bowled leg spin from a very short run-up, but had such speed of action that he was almost medium pace.
He was born on 11 February 1891 in Hillingdon, and was highly successful in local games even as a teenager, so that Middlesex engaged him soon after his eighteenth birthday in 1909. He was an immediate success with his sharp spin, coming second in the Middlesex averages behind Frank Tarrant, whilst in 1910, though erratic, he accomplished a sensational performance against Essex, taking 7 wickets for 2 runs in 25 balls. That year, still a teenager, Hearne made two hundred for Middlesex, and in the dry summer of 1911, he went from strength to strength. His major feats that year were 234 against Somerset, 6 for 17 against Essex and nine wickets in nine overs for 40 runs against Surrey, all at Lord's. In all, he took 102 wickets and scored 1627 runs at an average of 42.81, and was named as a Cricketer of the Year by Wisden.
In 1911/1912, Hearne toured Australia with one of the strongest England sides ever. He played in all the Tests, but was utterly hopeless as a bowler on Australian pitches both then and in 1920/1921 and 1924/1925, and it is not really clear why. He had the spin and the pace from the ground to succeed on rock-hard pitches, but he lacked flight and could rarely persist for long enough to be effective in a long struggle. As a batsman, he did very well in the first two Tests, with 114 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground his only Test hundred - but he declined sharply afterwards.