LOSS TO CRICKET.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 18760, 26 December 1930, Page 10

LOSS TO CRICKET.

DEATH OF “JOHNNY” DOUGLAS. GREAT ALL ROUND PLAYER. Although he was prominent in two branches of spoit, Mr John William Henry Tyler Douglas, who was lost in the wreck of the steamer Oberon, was better known as a cricketer than as a boxer, owing to the fact that he captained English teams in test matches in England, on tour in Australia and in South Africa. Mr Douglas was born in September. 1882, and was educated at Felsted. After leaving school he was given his first trials for Essex in 1991, being bowled without making a run in each innings of his first match. Altogether he played in three county matches that year, while nothing was seen of him in the following season. From 1903 until 1905 he did not show much progress, his powers advancing slowly. In 1905 he headed the Sussex averages .taking five wickets with eight balls against Yorkshire. It was not until 1908 that he revealed his true strength, scoring 1010 runs during the season and taking 68 wickets. His position was then established, and in 1911 he was appointed captain of Essex, while in the same season he triumphed both as a batsman and bowler in the Gentlemen v. Players’ match at Lord’s. Visit to New Zealand. As a member of the M.C.C. team which visited New Zealand in 1907, under the leadership of E. G. Wynvard, Douglas stamped himself as a future captain of England. He was the mainstay of the attack and enjoyed the greatest success of the team as all all-rounder, doing more than any other player to win the team’s victories. In 20 innings he averaged 27. while he took 84 wickets for 889 runs, at an average of 10.5 a wicket. In the first test match against New 'Zealand at Christchurch, Douglas took five wickets for 56 runs, and four for 51. while he made 40 runs in the first innings. England won by nine wickets. New Zealand turned the tables in the second test, winning by 56 rum* Douglas made 18 and 37 and contri-, buted two fine bowling performances, taking seven v ickets for 49 runs and five for 75. Aucklanders will remember seeing Douglas in action in the drawn match against Auckland at the Domnin. The M.C.C. made 172 and 241, Douglas’ contributions being 26 and 36. Auckland replied with 195 and 131 for five wickets, Douglas taking no wickets for 43 runs and three for 23. Captain in Australia. In 1911-12 Douglas was a member r.f Mr P. F. Warner’s M.C.C. team which

toured in Australia, and owing to Mr Warner's illness assumed the captaincy after the first match of the tour. Under his leadership England | lost the first test match at Sydney, ; but won the other four. At Melbourne, in the match that decided the rubber, i lie took a great part. As captain he j risked putting his opponents in after ; he had won the toss, but his side was j successful. He took five wickets in i Australia’s second innings. After a quiet season in 1912, Doug- , las took a team to South Africa in i 1913-14, again proving a successful | leader. England won four of the test j matches, the other being drawn. In the first test he made 119. while his test average was 38. his bowling average being 23.9 In all matches he made j 850 runs at an average of 50, and took : .5 wickets at an average cost of 16.62. j Performances in Au? 4 —»tta. The war then interveneu, Douglas serving with the Bedford Regiment at the outbreak. He attained the rank oi lieutenant-colonel. After the armistice he again captained Essex, and in the 1919. 1929 and 1921 seasons made over 1000 runs and took 100 wickers, a feat he had previously performed in 1914. When the M.C.C. sent a team to Australia in 1920-21. Douglas was asked to lead it. Faced by powerful sides led by Warwick Armstrong. Douglas’ men lost all the tests. In these five games Douglas compiled 354 j runs in ten innings, being once not | out, giving an average of 39.33. His j highest score was 68. He took eight ; wickets for 420 runs, at an average | cost of 52.5 In all matches on the tour j he made 993 runs in 23 innings, at an j average of 52.42. His best scores were ; against Victoria, 133 not out. Bendigo. 1 119, and South Australia, 106 not out. He took 28 wickets at an average of ; 34.07. It was during this tour that his j cautious batting aroused the Australian ‘barrackers,” ore of whom bestowed the name “Johnny Won’t Hit To-day” on him. In the English season following \ Douglas was appointed captain of the Enelish team to meet the Australian visitors in the first twp test matches. After Australia had won both he was deposed from the captaincy in the third in favour of Tennyson, and was dropped from the other two tests, notwithstanding a magnificent fighting innings at Leeds in the third game. In this match Australia made 407, and England lost five wickets for 60. At that time Hobbs was not able to play. With England in this precarious position, Douglas and Tennyson were associated in a “rescue” partnership, and Douglas withstood the fast bowling of Gregory and Macdonald for four hours with a badly-injured thumb, making ~5 runs. In seven innings in the test matches Douglas made 176. his top score being 75 and his average 29.33. ! He took 11 wickets for 348 runs, an ; average of 3163. Douglas’ Best Season. The year 1921 was probably his besv season, as in 49 innings, including Q ight in which he was not out, he scored 1547 runs, giving him an average of 37.73. He made the highest score of his career in that year, compiling 210 for Essex against Derbyshire. He took 130 wickets for 2642 runs, his average being 20.32. Douglas’ most noted bowling performances were in two Gentlemen v. Players’ matches. He took nine wickets for 105 in the first innings in 1934 and eight wickets for 49 runs in the first innings in 1939. As a batsman Douglas was essentially a defensive player, who occasionally took caution too far. Times out of number his patience proved invaluable to his side, however, and he was a most difficult man to dispose r f. Wtihout being abnormally fast, he could maintain a fine pace as a bowler for hours, his endurance being exceptional. His length was very accurate, and he developed a useful swerve which made him most successful with a new ball, while he had plenty of pace off the pitch. Like his father before him, Douglas was middle-weight amateur boxing champion of England in 1905. while he won the Olympic middle-weight boxing championship at London in 1908. The value of his boxing experience could be seen in his cricket, and he was always in perfect training.