James "Jem" Broadbridge (1795–1843) was an English professional

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er who is widely considered the outstanding

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are cons ...

in England during the 1820s. He played mainly for Sussex teams and made 102 known appearances in

first-class cricket 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 one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

from 1814 to 1840,Jem Broadbridge
CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 June 2009. being best remembered for his part in the introduction of

roundarm bowling In cricket, roundarm bowling is a bowling style that was introduced in the first quarter of the 19th century and largely superseded underarm bowling by the 1830s. Using a roundarm action, the bowlers extend their arm about 90 degrees from their ...

. He played for the Players in the

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, exc ...

series and the

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in the North v. South series.

Cricket career

Born on 25 June 1795 in Duncton,

Petworth Petworth is a small town and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 east–west road from Heathfield to Winchester and the A283 Milford to Shoreham-by-Sea road. Some twelv ...

, Sussex, Jem Broadbridge had a known career spanning the 1814 to 1840 English seasons. In 102 matches, he scored 2,671 runs at a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

of 16.59 runs per innings with a highest score of 135. He took 51 catches and at least 324 wickets. He had an outstanding season in 1825 when inter-county cricket was revived for the first time since 1796, with Sussex playing two matches each against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Broadbridge scored the most runs in the season with 552 at an average of 46.00 and also took the most wickets with 31. This was the first time that one player had led both the batting and bowling rankings in a single season. Broadbridge repeated the feat in 1828, the year after the roundarm trial matches, when he scored 316 runs at 19.75 and took 46 wickets. Although roundarm had not yet been formally legalised, it was noted that Broadbridge and his Sussex colleague William Lillywhite constantly bowled with arm outstretched and the umpires did not no-ball them. Roundarm became known as "Sussex bowling" and this nickname stuck for a long time. Broadbridge had been arguably the best player in England during the 1820s but he was past his best in the 1830s, although he still had much to offer in terms of knowledge and experience. He continued playing until the 1840 season.

Roundarm controversy

Broadbridge and Lillywhite were innovators who did much to have

legalised. In the 1827 season, three roundarm trial matches were staged between Sussex and

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to evaluate roundarm ''vis-à-vis'' underarm. Broadbridge and Lillywhite were allowed to bowl roundarm for Sussex but the All-England players had to bowl underarm. The result of the "trial" was inconclusive but in practice, with umpires turning a blind eye, Broadbridge and Lillywhite continued to bowl roundarm without penalty.

Style and technique

Known to his fellow cricketers as "Our Jem", Broadbridge was arguably the outstanding

of his time. According to

Arthur Haygarth Arthur Haygarth (4 August 1825 – 1 May 1903) was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians. He played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Sussex between 1844 and 1861, as well as nu ...

in ''Scores and Biographies'', he was "considered for some seasons the best general cricketer in England, both as a batsman, bowler and single wicket player".

(1862) ''Scores & Biographies'', Volume 1, p. 403. Lillywhite. He bowled right-arm fast-medium and batted right-handed. He was described by Haygarth as "an extremely hard hitter". The bowling of Broadbridge and Lillywhite was the key factor in the success of Sussex, which was hailed as the

Champion County The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

in the 1820s. Haygarth says that Broadbridge began as a "slinging" bowler who afterwards delivered roundarm. He was quicker than medium pace but varied his length and speed "with effect". Broadbridge was described as "one of the most fox-headed fellows that ever bowled and was enough to worry and puzzle any man alive". H S Altham (1963) ''A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914)'', p. 65. Allen & Unwin. In the third of the roundarm trial matches in 1827, Broadbridge was out to one of the most unusual dismissals ever recorded. Despite his team having been told to bat steadily in their second innings when chasing 120 to win, Broadbridge at the start literally threw his bat out of his hands at a wide delivery. Bat and ball made contact and the ball flew off to point where it was caught by

William Ward William or Willie Ward may refer to: Sports * William Ward (American football) (1874–1936), American football coach at the University of Michigan in 1896 * William Ward (Australian cricketer) (1863–1948), Australian cricketer * William Ward (c ...

and Broadbridge was out. England then won by 25 runs.

Family and personal life

Broadbridge belonged to a farming family and lived all his life at Duncton. He regularly walked from Duncton to Brighton and back, a round trip, to play cricket.Jem Broadbridge

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. Retrieved 29 June 2009. He was the son of William and Mary Broadbridge. His height was and he weighed about . He died at Dunction in 1843 having not married. His elder brother

William Broadbridge William Broadbridge (1 October 1790 – 19 April 1860) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1817 to 1830. He was a brother of Jem Broadbridge and a cousin of George Millyard. A right-handed batsman and occa ...

(1790–1860) was an occasional Sussex player in 25 matches between 1817 and 1830. His younger brother Robin (born 1797) played four matches between 1822 and 1824. The Broadbridge brothers were cousins of their Sussex colleague

George Millyard George Millyard (12 November 1814 – 20 July 1848) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1835 to 1842. He was a cousin of his Sussex colleagues Jem and William Broadbridge. A left-handed batsman, occasional ...

. Broadbridge's home village of Duncton has a pub named ''The Cricketers'' in honour of Broadbridge and his colleague Jemmy Dean, another lifelong resident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broadbridge, Jem 1795 births 1843 deaths English cricketers English cricketers of 1787 to 1825 English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 Players cricketers Sussex cricketers North v South cricketers Suffolk cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Kent cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Left-Handed v Right-Handed cricketers Married v Single cricketers Godalming Cricket Club cricketers The Bs cricketers A to K v L to Z cricketers George Osbaldeston's XI cricketers People from Duncton