Sir John Berry <!-- NOTE: Do not add "Jack" here per WP:HYPOCORISM--> Hobbs (16 December 1882 – 21 December 1963) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Master", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century-maker in first-class cricket, with 61,760 runs and 199 centuries. A right-handed batsman and an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, Hobbs also excelled as a fielder, particularly in the position of cover point. Hobbs was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century alongside Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Shane Warne, and Sir Viv Richards.
His early batting was undistinguished, but a sudden improvement in 1901 brought him to the attention of local teams. In 1903, he successfully applied to join Surrey, with the support of England batsman Tom Hayward. His reputation grew and when he qualified to play for Surrey, he scored 88 on his first-class debut and a century in his next game. Over the following seasons, he established himself as a successful county player and in 1908 made his Test debut for England, scoring 83 in his first innings. After some mixed early performances for England, Hobbs' success against South African googly bowlers made his place secure, and by 1911–12, when he scored three centuries in the Test series against Australia, critics judged him the world's best batsman. In county cricket, he developed an attacking, dynamic style of play and was very successful up until 1914. After serving in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, he maintained his reputation when cricket resumed in 1919, but his career was threatened by appendicitis, which caused him to miss most of the 1921 season. When he returned, he was a more cautious batsman and used a safer style of play. Subsequently, he became more consistent and scored prolifically in both Test and domestic cricket until his retirement. During this period, he played some of his most acclaimed innings.
Hobbs' success was based on fast footwork, an ability to play many different shots, and excellent placement of the ball. Among the first batsmen to succeed against previously devastating googly bowlers, he adapted his technique to meet the new styles of bowling that arose early in his career; he mixed classical shots with an effective defence. He was particularly successful on difficult pitches for batting. An opening batsman, Hobbs established several effective opening partnerships; with Tom Hayward and Andy Sandham for Surrey and with Wilfred Rhodes and Herbert Sutcliffe for England. Despite batting against "ruthless bowlers on very hostile pitches with [fewer] safety regulations", his partnership with Sutcliffe remains in 2022 the highest average for a first-wicket partnership in Test history by a wide margin. Contemporaries rated Hobbs extremely highly, and critics continue to list him among the best batsmen of all time.
Hobbs was very close to Ada, his wife of 56 years; the pair were able to live comfortably in later life through Hobbs' substantial wage from Surrey, his commercial endorsements, and the proceeds of the sporting goods shop he opened in 1921 and ran for nearly the rest of his life. After his retirement from cricket, he also worked in journalism. Knighted in 1953—the first professional cricketer to be so honoured—he spent his later years nursing his wife. He died, aged 81, a few months after her in 1963.
Early life
Childhood and early cricket
thumb|Hobbs regularly practised cricket on [[Parker's Piece in his youth.|alt=An open stretch of grassland looking towards a church]]
Hobbs was born in Cambridge on 16 December 1882, the first of 12 children to John Cooper Hobbs, a slater, and his wife Flora Matilda Berry. Hobbs was raised in a poor, run-down area of the city, and he spent most of his childhood in near poverty. and in 1889 was appointed groundsman and umpire at Jesus College.
From an early age, Hobbs wished to pursue a career in cricket, and played whenever he could. His first games were played in the streets near his house. He followed his father's matches at Cambridge University colleges, and played for teams on Parker's Piece.
He was educated at a primary school affiliated with his local Anglican church, St Matthew's, and moved in 1891 to York Street Boys' School, a fee-paying establishment; Hobbs later admitted to being a poor scholar but was successful at sports. and during holidays helped his father at Jesus College. In his final year at York Street, to supplement the family budget, Hobbs took a job working before school hours in the domestic service of a private house. On leaving school in 1895, he worked as an errand boy until his father's connections at the university secured him a summer job as a college servant, chiefly assisting the cricket team. He played for various local clubs but did not initially stand out as a cricketer: although better than most other Cambridge batsmen, no coaches or major teams approached him, and his batting gave little indication of the success which came later.
Hobbs' breakthrough came in 1901.|group=notes his first century. At the end of the season, he was included in a Cambridge XI, a team chosen from the best local cricketers, to play a prestigious match against a team of professional cricketers brought by the Cambridge-born Surrey cricketer Tom Hayward. Hobbs' overall record was unremarkable, but at the end of the season he was invited to play as an amateur for Cambridgeshire; he achieved little in his appearances.
Early in 1902, Hobbs was appointed as assistant to the professional cricket coach at Bedford School, working as a groundsman and bowling in the nets. In late August, he returned to Cambridge to play as a professional for the first time. For a fee of ten shillings, Hobbs appeared for a team from the nearby town of Royston against Hertfordshire Club and Ground and scored 119 runs. His success delighted his family and made him a local celebrity. Hobbs' father, who had helped to arrange his appearance in the match, died from pneumonia a week later. Francis Hutt, a former friend and colleague of the father, contacted Essex County Cricket Club to request a trial for Hobbs. That county never replied—Hobbs later scored his maiden first-class century against them|group=notes Hobbs could not immediately play for Surrey owing to the qualification rules in place at the time for the County Championship—a player had to be born in a county or to have lived there for two years in order to represent it. To achieve qualification, he moved to the Surrey area of London. Around this time he played football for local teams as a forward with some success, but struggled financially during the winter months and found it hard to find employment.
While qualifying, Hobbs played for Surrey's Colts side and for the Club and Ground Eleven, both of which were teams for young cricketers. Although he made some substantial scores, according to his biographer, Leo McKinstry, "just as he had done for much of his early life, [Hobbs] performed satisfactorily without doing anything startling". In the 1903 season he scored 480 runs at an average of 34.29, as well as taking 19 wickets as his bowling improved. The following season, Hobbs played only for the Club and Ground, increased his average to 43.90, and impressed people connected with the Surrey county side.
First-class cricketer
thumb|Hobbs in his early career
thumb|Hobbs (right) opening the batting with [[Tom Hayward during the County Championship match between Surrey and Warwickshire at the Oval on 2 May 1910|alt=Two cricketers coming out of a pavilion, ready to bat]]
By the start of the 1905 season, Hobbs had qualified for Surrey and was already being noted as a player of promise. At the time, Surrey needed an opening batsman to partner Tom Hayward. Although Hobbs had rarely opened the batting, he was selected as Hayward's opening partner for Surrey's first game of the season. after scoring 18 runs in the first innings, he scored a rapid 88 in the second before rain ensured the match was drawn. Surrey and its committee were impressed, and Hobbs retained his place for the club's opening County Championship match against Essex. When he scored 155 runs in around three hours during Surrey's second innings, Over the following weeks, Hobbs scored consistently, hitting another century against Essex and 94 runs against the touring Australian cricket team. But a combination of fatigue from continuous cricket and the pressure of first-class cricket adversely affected his form, and he struggled for the remainder of the season even as the county tried various measures to help him. In first-class cricket that season, Hobbs scored 1,317 runs at an average of 25.82, including two centuries and four other scores over fifty, to finish ninth in the Surrey batting averages. As an occasional medium-paced bowler, he took six wickets. Reviewing Surrey's season, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack singled Hobbs out for attention, praising his early-season form; it suggested that he was the best professional batsman Surrey had found for a long time. The Times noted that, while performing well, Hobbs had fallen short of the standards suggested by his start. Displaying a wider range of shots, he scored four centuries, including another against Essex, and established an effective opening partnership with Hayward. Between his debut and Hayward's retirement in 1914, the pair shared 40 opening partnerships in excess of 100 runs. Hobbs was generally the junior partner, Hayward influenced Hobbs' mental approach, particularly his running between the wickets, In all first-class cricket in 1906, Hobbs scored 1,913 runs at an average of 40.70 with a highest score of 162, Hobbs made further advances in 1907. and scored consistently well. In June, he and Hayward shared four century opening partnerships in one week. Hobbs scored four centuries in total and by the end of the season had scored 2,135 runs, averaging 37.45. and eighth nationally. His performances brought him to the attention of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) selectors, and he was chosen for the Players in the prestigious Gentlemen v Players matches in July, although he scored few runs in either game.
Test match cricketer
First appearances
Hobbs was selected to tour Australia in the 1907–08 season with an MCC team, given his opportunity by the unavailability of several leading players. Throughout the outward voyage, Hobbs was severely affected by sea-sickness, a condition which afflicted him on sea voyages throughout his life; in later tours, he travelled overland as far as possible to reduce his time on ships. After England lost the game, Hobbs was chosen for the second Test. Hobbs made his Test debut on 1January 1908 at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Opening the England batting on the second day, Hobbs scored 83 runs in 182 minutes. Eventually, England needed 282 to win and did so by one wicket; Hobbs scored 28. He retained his place for the rest of the series. In the fourth match, he scored 57 on a pitch badly affected by rain; by adopting a policy of attacking the bowling he hit ten fours. He concluded his series with an innings of 72 in the final game, but could not prevent a third successive English defeat—the home side won the five-match series 4–1. He scored 302 runs in the Tests at an average of 43.14. In other first-class matches, he scored centuries against Tasmania and Victoria, totalling 876 runs at 41.71. Even so, he scored 81 in the Gentlemen v Players game, achieved a batting average over 40 in the County Championship and scored six centuries for Surrey. In all first-class games, Hobbs scored 1,904 runs at 37.33.
Hobbs began the 1909 season with a succession of large scores, including a double century in one match and two separate centuries in another. Such form placed him in contention for a place in the team to play Australia that year, despite the English batting strength. But the England captain, Archie MacLaren, was unconvinced that Hobbs possessed the required quality. The Surrey captain and England selector H. D. G. Leveson Gower persuaded the committee to include Hobbs in the squad, then convinced a reluctant MacLaren to play him in the team. In the first Test, played at Edgbaston, Hobbs opened the batting with MacLaren but was dismissed from the first ball he received. The match was a low-scoring one, and Australia set England 105 runs to win. Hobbs, this time opening the batting with C. B. Fry, hit 62 not out and England passed the target without losing a wicket. England lost the next two matches, and Hobbs was unsuccessful, with a top-score of 30 in four innings. A badly injured finger meant that he missed the remainder of the Test series; in three games, he scored 132 runs at an average of 26.40. provoking debate over how batsmen could combat the new delivery. The MCC captain, Leveson Gower, selected Wilfred Rhodes to open the batting with Hobbs for the first Test. Rhodes, a defensively-minded batsman who excelled at taking quick singles, had begun his career as a bowler who batted down the order. He steadily improved his batting, eventually becoming an opening batsman. Hobbs and Rhodes, between 1910 and 1921, opened the batting 36 times for England and shared eight century partnerships; their average of 61.31 runs per opening partnership remains the second highest in Test history. In other first-class cricket, they shared a further five century opening partnerships.
This tactic developed from the first day that Hobbs and Rhodes batted together in the first Test; they added 159 runs for the first wicket. Hobbs scored 89 in the first innings and 35 in the second, and while England lost narrowly, he appeared much more comfortable than the other English batsmen against the googly. England also lost the second Test, but Hobbs scored 53 and 70, sharing two substantial opening partnerships with Rhodes. The failure of the other batsmen, defeated by the googly bowlers, caused consternation in the English press. As England had few effective pace bowlers on the tour, Hobbs opened the bowling in the first two Tests, as well as the batting. In the third Test, he scored 93 not out to guide England to a three-wicket victory. However, the series was lost when England were defeated in the fourth match; Hobbs scored 0and 1, the only time in his Test career that he failed to reach double figures in either innings, and his worst match return in first-class cricket. In the final game of the series, he scored his first Test hundred, opening the batting and sharing a partnership of 221 with Rhodes which was a record at the time for the first wicket in Test matches. Hobbs scored 187, an innings praised by Wisden for its "brilliancy". In this match he once more opened the bowling, dismissing Reggie Schwarz, his only Test wicket. and by the end of the series, critics were beginning to describe him as the world's leading batsman.
Fatigue from the South African tour affected Hobbs in 1910. He scored 1,982 runs at an average of 33.03, the lowest average of his career apart from his first season. More effective during 1911, after a long rest during the winter, but was very effective in high-pressure games, and scored 2,376 runs at 41.68. During the first Test, which Australia won by 146 runs, Hobbs scored 63 in the first innings, although by his own admission he did not play well. Rhodes was in the team, but did not open the batting owing to his poor form; Hobbs opened with Septimus Kinneir. England recovered to win the second Test; after bowling Australia out for 184 and taking a first-innings lead of 81, the visiting team eventually faced a target of 219 to win. Hobbs and Rhodes, restored to the opening position, began with a partnership of 57. Hobbs scored 126 not out, his first century against Australia, and scored particularly well from the bowling of H. V. "Ranji" Hordern, a googly bowler who had taken 12 wickets in the first Test. Wisden commented that Hobbs "played one of the finest innings of his life", and England won by eight wickets. Australia were once more bowled out for a low score in the third Test; this time Hobbs and Rhodes added 147 for the first wicket and Hobbs scored 187. England reached a total of 501 and won the match by seven wickets.
Having established a lead in the series, England began the fourth Test by bowling Australia out for 191. At the end of the first day, Hobbs and Rhodes had scored 54 together, and the next day they took their partnership for the first wicket to 323, setting a new record for the highest partnership for any wicket in Test matches. Their partnership remained an overall Test record for 22 years and the highest for the first wicket until 1948.