John William Wilson (20 August 1921 – 13 October 1985) was an Australian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played in one Test match in 1956.

Life and career

A left-arm spinner from

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

who delivered the ball at almost medium pace, Wilson was nicknamed "Chuck" or "Chucker" because of the jerkiness of his action, a legacy of a football injury when he was a teenager. However, his

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

was never officially questioned. He played once for his home state before moving to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

in 1950/51, playing virtually every

first-class match First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for the state side until 1956/57. He had abundant stamina and relied on flight and accuracy more than spin.''The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket'', Oxford, Melbourne, 1996, pp. 592–93. He toured England with Australia in 1956, but ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' commented that he "never adapted himself to English conditions" and "lacked finger-spin".''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'', 1957, p. 225. He took 43 wickets on the English leg of the tour but did not play in any of the Test matches. His one successful match on the tour came at

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, where he took 12

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

wickets for 61 runs in the match, at one point taking six wickets in seven overs for no runs as the county were all out for just 44 in their first innings. His seven for 11 in that innings remained his best bowling performance. On the way home from England, the Australians played one Test match in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and three in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Wilson was picked for the second match against

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, did not bat and took only one wicket. The match was drawn. Ian Johnson, returning after injury, replaced him for the third Test, played on a spinners' wicket at

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, which Australia won. An indifferent batsman who usually batted at No. 11, Wilson had a highest first-class score of 19

not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...

. On the 1956 tour of England, he scored just 23 runs all summer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Jack 1921 births 1985 deaths Australia Test cricketers South Australia cricketers Victoria cricketers People educated at Melbourne High School Australian cricketers Cricketers from Melbourne People from Albert Park, Victoria 20th-century Australian sportsmen