Jack Young

YOUNG, JOHN ALBERT, the Middlesex and England slow left-arm bowler, died at his home in St John's Wood on February 5, 1993, aged 80. Jack Young was 33 before his cricket career took off. He had played a few times for Middlesex in the 1930s. But in 1946 he established himself as a vital, if not the most obvious, member of what became one of the great Championship sides the following year. He was a short man who bowled from a gentle approach and a low trajectory. The whole effect was deceptive and he spent hours in the nets working on his tricks. In 1947 his success in completing the Middlesex wins that Denis Compton and Bill Edrich habitually started earned him the first of his eight Test caps. At Trent Bridge the following year he contained Bradman and Hassett, helped by a negative field, and finished with figures of 60-28-79-1. He was never a match winner in Test cricket but he continued bowling successfully in county cricket until 1956, though he had considerable knee trouble in the last few years. He took 1,361 wickets in 341 first-class matches at an average of only 19.68. "He was a very under-rated bowler," said Denis Compton, "who bowled very well against the best batsmen. He was a model of accuracy and very difficult to get away."