Johnny Briggs (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Johnny Briggs was a left arm spin bowler
for Lancashire County Cricket Club
between 1879 and 1900 who still stands as the second-highest wicket-taker in the county's history after Brian Statham
. In the early days of Test cricket
, Briggs was one of the most successful bowlers, proving deadly whenever wickets were affected by rain, whilst both for his county and country his batting – though at times too careless – was very useful. He was the first bowler in Test cricket to take 100 wickets, and held the record of most wickets in Test cricket on two occasions, the first in 1895 and again from 1898 until 1904, when he was succeeded by Hugh Trumble
. He toured Australia a record six times, a feat only equalled by Colin Cowdrey
.
Short even for the 19th century (less than five feet four or 162 centimetres) Briggs' skill lay in his ability to vary the flight and pace of the ball as well as in achieving prodigious spin on the primitive pitches of the nineteenth century. As a batsman, Briggs was capable of hitting very effectively, but as time went by an eagerness to punish every ball set in and led to a decline.
He was the son of a professional club cricketer and he first played as a sub pro at the age of 13 (at Hornsea in Yorkshire). His father James played cricket and rugby for various teams and took his wife and five children around the north of England until he settled down as a pub landlord near Widnes. The 1881 census suggests James kept the Cross Keys at Appleton village. Rugby was an amateur game at this time. James and later Johnny played rugby for Widnes
but supported themselves through professional cricket.
Johnny remained with Hornsea until the end of the 1877 season, when he was not retained, and migrated to Lancashire. His next professional appointment was at the Northern Cricket Club
in 1878. He was retained by Northern for the 1879 season, during which he was called up by Lancashire to make his county debut against Nottinghamshire in late May.
Briggs played five times for Lancashire in 1879, and established himself as a regular player by 1882 despite hardly bowling at all and doing little of significance with the bat. He was however a famous fielder at cover. In 1883 and 1884 his batting improved so much that he was chosen to tour Australia with Alfred Shaw
's team and played in all the Test matches, scoring an impressive 121 in Melbourne.
In 1885, Briggs developed amazingly as a bowler: having scarcely bowled at all in previous seasons, he took 67 wickets for 13.74 each, and in 1886, his bowling helped England achieve a 3-0 cleansweep of the series, their last whitewash victory in a series of three or more Tests in the Ashes
until 1977. His batting did not suffer: Briggs hit a career-best 186 against Surrey at Liverpool – adding a then-record 173 for the tenth wicket with Dick Pilling
. In the exceptionally dry summer of 1887, Briggs took 100 wickets in a season for the first time, whilst in the appalling summer of 1888 he was consistently deadly on the treacherous pitches. His 160 wickets cost only 10.49 each, and the following year he was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year. He was ruthless on the matting in South Africa's first two Test matches in 1888/9 (only canonised as such much later), taking 15 for 28 in the second Test, of which fourteen were clean bowled.
For Lancashire and England, Briggs shouldered an incredible burden. For Lancashire, as a professional or "player" in a team largely made up of "gentleman" amateurs he was expected to open the bowling and sometimes to bowl all day in tandem with the other professionals; Barlow, Crossland, Mold. He toured Australia five times and went to South Africa, experiencing very high temperatures. Professional cricketers were expected to play through injuries, if they didn't play, they would not be paid. His health suffered even before his infamous injury and last illness.
Briggs bowled the third ever hat trick in Test Cricket. It happened at Sydney in 1892 when he finished off the Australian second innings.
In the First Test at Sydney
in 1894/95 he played a part in the first time a team won after following on. Australia scored a massive 586 on a relatively poor pitch- partly because of England's wicket keeper dropping some important chances. When England batted they struggled to 325 only because Briggs at No.8 scored 57. They were asked to follow on. This time they batted well on a wearing pitch, Lancashire's Albert Ward scored a hundred and Johnny Briggs made another 42. Australia only needed 177 to win and made it to 117 for 2 by close of play. Some of the England players had given the match up. Peel, the other spinner in the side got very drunk. Overnight however it rained and in the morning the sun was shining. A wet wicket drying under a hot sun would soon become a sticky wicket. Peel was put under a shower to sober up. He and Briggs were unplayable and the match was won by 10 runs. In the Second Test at Melbourne
Briggs equalled Fred Spofforth
's record of 94 Test wickets on 29 December 1894, as did Charles Turner
two days later. The three men briefly held the record together, but Turner missed the Third Test at Adelaide
and Briggs overtook them both. Briggs became the first man to claim 100 Test wickets in the Fourth Test at Sydney
on 1 February 1895, Turner being the second on 4 February in his last Test match.
With the controversial speedster Arthur Mold
, Briggs formed a deadly bowling combination for Lancashire from 1889 onwards: both bowlers took over 100 wickets every year from 1889 to 1896, frequently bowling almost unchanged through an innings and keeping Lancashire near the top of the Championship table even with almost no worthwhile support bowlers. His batting remained useful until 1894, after which his impatience tended to get the better of him and, despite rapidly improving pitches, he played few significant innings in his later years.
Interestingly, CB Fry described his trademark shot as a "whizzing uppercut that travels over third man's head", a thoroughly modern sounding stroke.
Nonetheless, Briggs' superb bowling — though aided by a number of sticky wickets — won Lancashire their first official County Championship
in 1897, but he was a disappointment in Australia the following winter and suffered a severe decline in his bowling the following year.
In 1899, Briggs was still thought good enough to play for England at Headingley
, but before that he had suffered a blow over the heart from Tom Hayward
. Though this injury was not thought severe, Briggs collapsed during the Test and did not play for the rest of the season. He was one of the first patients to receive an X Ray examination and it was found that a rib had damaged his heart.
In 1900, he made a remarkable comeback, taking all ten wickets for 55 against Worcestershire and scoring over 800 runs, but soon afterwards it became clear he was suffering severely from mental illness
. Confined to an asylum, Briggs never recovered and died early in 1902 at the age of just 39 — a tragic loss to cricket and especially Lancashire, who severely missed his bowling between 1901 and 1903.
Briggs' talents weren't limited to cricket. He also played hockey for Manchester. Between 1878-1882 he played for Widnes Rugby League Football Club. He played the important position of fullback (standing at 5 ft 4 ins tall). Many people remarked on his sharp and athletic fielding in cricket and it was probably due to the skills and fitness that he gained during his stint with Widnes. In 1882 a broken arm made him think about retirement from rugby. He carried on playing for Widnes occasionally until 1884 after which time his cricket career blossomed.
Briggs competed with Yorkshireman Bobby Peel
for the left-arm spinner's position in the England Test side, and accomplished more fine performances at Test level, notably at Adelaide in 1891/1892 and at The Oval
in 1893. There was a much remarked upon contrast between the two. Briggs was chirpy, hard working and much loved. Peel was a dissolute dipsomaniac who eventually left the game after embarrassing himself.
CB Fry wrote of Briggs, "'This little animal is round and smiles, it bowls and bowls and bowls and it always gets wickets.' Of course no one would call Johnny a beast, not even a disappointed batsman. Why, he beams upon you before and after your innings. The shorter your innings the happier he is towards you. He passes you a cheery time of day. He inquires with feeling about your health and form. He rubs the ball in the dust, takes two steps and serves you a fast yorker instead of the high tossed slow you expected. You retire, he smiles. What could be pleasanter?"
Left-arm orthodox spin
Left-arm orthodox spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket.Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball from right to left of the cricket pitch...
for Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
between 1879 and 1900 who still stands as the second-highest wicket-taker in the county's history after Brian Statham
Brian Statham
John Brian "George" Statham, CBE was one of the leading English fast bowlers in 20th-century English cricket. Initially a bowler of a brisk fast-medium pace, Statham was able to remodel his action to generate enough speed to become genuinely fast...
. In the early days of Test cricket
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...
, Briggs was one of the most successful bowlers, proving deadly whenever wickets were affected by rain, whilst both for his county and country his batting – though at times too careless – was very useful. He was the first bowler in Test cricket to take 100 wickets, and held the record of most wickets in Test cricket on two occasions, the first in 1895 and again from 1898 until 1904, when he was succeeded by Hugh Trumble
Hugh Trumble
Hugh Trumble was an Australian cricketer who played 32 Test matches as a bowling all-rounder between 1890 and 1904. He captained the Australian team in two Tests, winning both. Trumble took 141 wickets in Test cricket—a world record at the time of his retirement—at an average of...
. He toured Australia a record six times, a feat only equalled by Colin Cowdrey
Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, CBE , better known as Colin Cowdrey, was the Captain of Oxford University, Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team in a career that lasted from 1950 to 1976...
.
Short even for the 19th century (less than five feet four or 162 centimetres) Briggs' skill lay in his ability to vary the flight and pace of the ball as well as in achieving prodigious spin on the primitive pitches of the nineteenth century. As a batsman, Briggs was capable of hitting very effectively, but as time went by an eagerness to punish every ball set in and led to a decline.
He was the son of a professional club cricketer and he first played as a sub pro at the age of 13 (at Hornsea in Yorkshire). His father James played cricket and rugby for various teams and took his wife and five children around the north of England until he settled down as a pub landlord near Widnes. The 1881 census suggests James kept the Cross Keys at Appleton village. Rugby was an amateur game at this time. James and later Johnny played rugby for Widnes
Widnes Vikings
Widnes Vikings RLFC are an English professional rugby league club based in Widnes, Cheshire. They currently play in the Engage Super League, the top tier of European rugby league, after being awarded a license to compete in the top-flight Super League from 2012 onward...
but supported themselves through professional cricket.
Johnny remained with Hornsea until the end of the 1877 season, when he was not retained, and migrated to Lancashire. His next professional appointment was at the Northern Cricket Club
Northern Cricket Club
The Northern Cricket Club, located in Crosby on north Merseyside, was founded in 1859.The original clubhouse was in Rawson Road in nearby Seaforth until 1879, when the club moved to Haigh Road in Waterloo Park....
in 1878. He was retained by Northern for the 1879 season, during which he was called up by Lancashire to make his county debut against Nottinghamshire in late May.
Briggs played five times for Lancashire in 1879, and established himself as a regular player by 1882 despite hardly bowling at all and doing little of significance with the bat. He was however a famous fielder at cover. In 1883 and 1884 his batting improved so much that he was chosen to tour Australia with Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings . He who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888...
's team and played in all the Test matches, scoring an impressive 121 in Melbourne.
In 1885, Briggs developed amazingly as a bowler: having scarcely bowled at all in previous seasons, he took 67 wickets for 13.74 each, and in 1886, his bowling helped England achieve a 3-0 cleansweep of the series, their last whitewash victory in a series of three or more Tests in the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
until 1977. His batting did not suffer: Briggs hit a career-best 186 against Surrey at Liverpool – adding a then-record 173 for the tenth wicket with Dick Pilling
Dick Pilling
Richard Pilling was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club and England....
. In the exceptionally dry summer of 1887, Briggs took 100 wickets in a season for the first time, whilst in the appalling summer of 1888 he was consistently deadly on the treacherous pitches. His 160 wickets cost only 10.49 each, and the following year he was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year. He was ruthless on the matting in South Africa's first two Test matches in 1888/9 (only canonised as such much later), taking 15 for 28 in the second Test, of which fourteen were clean bowled.
For Lancashire and England, Briggs shouldered an incredible burden. For Lancashire, as a professional or "player" in a team largely made up of "gentleman" amateurs he was expected to open the bowling and sometimes to bowl all day in tandem with the other professionals; Barlow, Crossland, Mold. He toured Australia five times and went to South Africa, experiencing very high temperatures. Professional cricketers were expected to play through injuries, if they didn't play, they would not be paid. His health suffered even before his infamous injury and last illness.
Briggs bowled the third ever hat trick in Test Cricket. It happened at Sydney in 1892 when he finished off the Australian second innings.
In the First Test at Sydney
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
in 1894/95 he played a part in the first time a team won after following on. Australia scored a massive 586 on a relatively poor pitch- partly because of England's wicket keeper dropping some important chances. When England batted they struggled to 325 only because Briggs at No.8 scored 57. They were asked to follow on. This time they batted well on a wearing pitch, Lancashire's Albert Ward scored a hundred and Johnny Briggs made another 42. Australia only needed 177 to win and made it to 117 for 2 by close of play. Some of the England players had given the match up. Peel, the other spinner in the side got very drunk. Overnight however it rained and in the morning the sun was shining. A wet wicket drying under a hot sun would soon become a sticky wicket. Peel was put under a shower to sober up. He and Briggs were unplayable and the match was won by 10 runs. In the Second Test at Melbourne
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
Briggs equalled Fred Spofforth
Fred Spofforth
Frederick Robert "Fred" Spofforth , also known as "The Demon Bowler", was arguably the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century and was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the first to take a test hat-trick in 1879...
's record of 94 Test wickets on 29 December 1894, as did Charles Turner
Charles Turner (cricketer)
Charles Thomas Biass Turner was a bowler who is regarded as one of the finest ever produced by Australia....
two days later. The three men briefly held the record together, but Turner missed the Third Test at Adelaide
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
and Briggs overtook them both. Briggs became the first man to claim 100 Test wickets in the Fourth Test at Sydney
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
on 1 February 1895, Turner being the second on 4 February in his last Test match.
With the controversial speedster Arthur Mold
Arthur Mold
Arthur Webb Mold was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club between 1889 and 1901. He played three Test matches for England in 1893 and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1892. A fast bowler, he was one of the most effective bowlers...
, Briggs formed a deadly bowling combination for Lancashire from 1889 onwards: both bowlers took over 100 wickets every year from 1889 to 1896, frequently bowling almost unchanged through an innings and keeping Lancashire near the top of the Championship table even with almost no worthwhile support bowlers. His batting remained useful until 1894, after which his impatience tended to get the better of him and, despite rapidly improving pitches, he played few significant innings in his later years.
Interestingly, CB Fry described his trademark shot as a "whizzing uppercut that travels over third man's head", a thoroughly modern sounding stroke.
Nonetheless, Briggs' superb bowling — though aided by a number of sticky wickets — won Lancashire their first official County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
in 1897, but he was a disappointment in Australia the following winter and suffered a severe decline in his bowling the following year.
In 1899, Briggs was still thought good enough to play for England at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
, but before that he had suffered a blow over the heart from Tom Hayward
Tom Hayward
Thomas Walter Hayward was a cricketer who played for Surrey and England between the 1890s and the outbreak of World War I. He was primarily an opening batsman, noted especially for the quality of his off-drive...
. Though this injury was not thought severe, Briggs collapsed during the Test and did not play for the rest of the season. He was one of the first patients to receive an X Ray examination and it was found that a rib had damaged his heart.
In 1900, he made a remarkable comeback, taking all ten wickets for 55 against Worcestershire and scoring over 800 runs, but soon afterwards it became clear he was suffering severely from mental illness
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
. Confined to an asylum, Briggs never recovered and died early in 1902 at the age of just 39 — a tragic loss to cricket and especially Lancashire, who severely missed his bowling between 1901 and 1903.
Briggs' talents weren't limited to cricket. He also played hockey for Manchester. Between 1878-1882 he played for Widnes Rugby League Football Club. He played the important position of fullback (standing at 5 ft 4 ins tall). Many people remarked on his sharp and athletic fielding in cricket and it was probably due to the skills and fitness that he gained during his stint with Widnes. In 1882 a broken arm made him think about retirement from rugby. He carried on playing for Widnes occasionally until 1884 after which time his cricket career blossomed.
Briggs competed with Yorkshireman Bobby Peel
Bobby Peel
Robert "Bobby" Peel was a Yorkshire and England cricketer: a left-arm spinner who ranks as one of the finest bowlers of the 1890s. He was also a capable batsman, who once hit 210 not out...
for the left-arm spinner's position in the England Test side, and accomplished more fine performances at Test level, notably at Adelaide in 1891/1892 and at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
in 1893. There was a much remarked upon contrast between the two. Briggs was chirpy, hard working and much loved. Peel was a dissolute dipsomaniac who eventually left the game after embarrassing himself.
CB Fry wrote of Briggs, "'This little animal is round and smiles, it bowls and bowls and bowls and it always gets wickets.' Of course no one would call Johnny a beast, not even a disappointed batsman. Why, he beams upon you before and after your innings. The shorter your innings the happier he is towards you. He passes you a cheery time of day. He inquires with feeling about your health and form. He rubs the ball in the dust, takes two steps and serves you a fast yorker instead of the high tossed slow you expected. You retire, he smiles. What could be pleasanter?"
General sources
- "Johnny Briggs" (1902) by Herbert Turner
- "Giants of the Game" (1901) by Lyttleton, Ford, Fry, Giffen