Board Jack Image 9 Gloucestershire 1897

Description

Clifton, Bristol born Jack Board was a wicketkeeper and a right-handed batsman who started out as a tail ender but developed into a useful batsman who often opened the innings for his County, Gloucestershire. Picked by W. G. Grace out of Bristol club cricket for the South v North match at Lord’s in 1891, his maiden first class appearance, Board went straight into the Gloucestershire side afterwards and stayed there for 20 years. In 1895, he set the County record for dismissals in a season with 75. As a batsman, he scored 214 in 210 minutes against Somerset in 1900, the highest by a Gloucestershire wicketkeeper, and in 1903 he shared in a sixth wicket partnership of 320 with Gilbert Jessop against Sussex at Hove, though his share was just 71, while Jessop scored 286. The stand remains the County record for the sixth wicket. He made over 1,000 runs in six seasons during his career.

In Test match cricket, wicket keepers such as Dick Lilley and Bill Storer, and subsequently Bert Strudwick were generally the preferred Test match keepers. Board toured Australia in 1897-98 as understudy to Bill Storer under A.E. Stoddart without playing in the Tests, and twice toured South Africa. He went with Lord Hawke in 1898-99, and won his first two Test caps, making his Test match debut in Johannesburg in February 1899.  He top scored in his first Test innings, but then never exceeded the 29 he scored in that match. In 1905-06, he played in four Test matches in the tour to The Cape led by Plum Warner, finishing with a batting average of 10.80 in Test match cricket, taking 8 catches and making 3 stumpings.

In a lengthy career, Board played in 525 first class matches, and took 851 catches, making 355 stumpings. With the bat he scored 15,674 runs, averaging 19.37, with 9 career centuries and 64 half centuries. He was awarded a benefit by Gloucestershire in the match against Surrey in 1901. The first of his appearances in Gentlemen and Players’ matches was at The Oval in 1896, his last at Lord’s in 1910.

He became a well known cricket coach towards the end of his career. From 1910, he went each winter to New Zealand, where he coached and played for Hawke’s Bay, for whom he made scores of 134 and 195, returning each English summer for a few games for Gloucestershire.

After the First World War, he became a regular County umpire in English cricket from 1921 and combined that with winters in South Africa coaching. It was on the return trip from South Africa to England in 1924 aboard The Kenilworth Castle that he had a heart attack and died aged 57. He was buried at sea.