Joe Vine
Encyclopedia
Joseph Vine (15 May 1875 in Willingdon
, Sussex
, England
– 25 April 1946 in Aldrington, Hove
, Sussex, England) was a professional cricket
er, who played his first-class cricket
for Sussex County Cricket Club
and London County
. Vine also played two Test match
es for England
and was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year
in 1906.
Vine's cricket career was not one of a rapid rise to fame. Although he played his first first-class match in 1896, it was not until 1900, after some tentative appearances in the three previous seasons, that he earned a regular place in the Sussex eleven. After that, however, he was indispensable. He was essentially a county cricketer, nearly all his work having been done for Sussex, but if, in addition to his batting and fielding, he had managed to retain his skill as a leg-break bowler it is quite likely that he would have played for England
before he played his two Test matches in 1911/2. Already a dependable player, he made a great advance as a batsman in 1904 and during 1905 he was better than he had ever been before, scoring for Sussex in county matches alone over sixteen hundred runs. Good as his position is he would probably have been thought still more of if he had belonged to another county. A batsman would need to be great indeed to play on the same side as Ranjitsinhji and C.B. Fry, and not be overshadowed. His success as a batsman was largely gained in a series of first-wicket partnerships with Fry, and though he may at times carry caution a little too far and keep an undue check on his hitting powers, the result is nearly always so satisfactory that it would be sheer hypercriticism to find fault with him. As an outfield Vine has not the wonderful pick-up of Denton, but in every other respect was in the highest class, and in the course of a season at the beginning of the twentieth century, perhaps no one saved a larger number of runs.
In total Vine played 547 first-class matches, which included 421 consecutive appearances for Sussex. Soon after retiring from county cricket Joe Vine became coach at Brighton College, an office he held for many years. He died aged 70 in 1946.
Willingdon and Jevington
Willingdon and Jevington is one of the civil parishes in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The two villages lie one mile south of Polegate. The two parishes, two decades ago, were separate; the merger of the two has produced a parish of over 6,000 people...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
– 25 April 1946 in Aldrington, Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
, Sussex, England) was a professional cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, who played his first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
for Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
and London County
London County Cricket Club
London County Cricket Club was a short-lived cricket club founded by the Crystal Palace Company. In 1898 they invited WG Grace to help them form a first-class cricket club. Grace accepted the offer and became the club's secretary, manager and captain. As a result, he severed his connection with...
. Vine also played two Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
es for England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
and was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
in 1906.
Vine's cricket career was not one of a rapid rise to fame. Although he played his first first-class match in 1896, it was not until 1900, after some tentative appearances in the three previous seasons, that he earned a regular place in the Sussex eleven. After that, however, he was indispensable. He was essentially a county cricketer, nearly all his work having been done for Sussex, but if, in addition to his batting and fielding, he had managed to retain his skill as a leg-break bowler it is quite likely that he would have played for England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
before he played his two Test matches in 1911/2. Already a dependable player, he made a great advance as a batsman in 1904 and during 1905 he was better than he had ever been before, scoring for Sussex in county matches alone over sixteen hundred runs. Good as his position is he would probably have been thought still more of if he had belonged to another county. A batsman would need to be great indeed to play on the same side as Ranjitsinhji and C.B. Fry, and not be overshadowed. His success as a batsman was largely gained in a series of first-wicket partnerships with Fry, and though he may at times carry caution a little too far and keep an undue check on his hitting powers, the result is nearly always so satisfactory that it would be sheer hypercriticism to find fault with him. As an outfield Vine has not the wonderful pick-up of Denton, but in every other respect was in the highest class, and in the course of a season at the beginning of the twentieth century, perhaps no one saved a larger number of runs.
In total Vine played 547 first-class matches, which included 421 consecutive appearances for Sussex. Soon after retiring from county cricket Joe Vine became coach at Brighton College, an office he held for many years. He died aged 70 in 1946.