Stanley Jackson — Five Tosses, Two Tests, Ashes Held 1905

Jackson was an exact contemporary of Darling at Cambridge — they had become friends at Adelaide in 1894-95. He had played 15 Tests before 1905 with a batting average of 48 but had never captained. The Ashes series of 1905 was his last chance: at 35 he was approaching the end and had told friends he would stand down from international cricket whatever the outcome.

The Australians of 1905, captained by Darling, included Trumper, Hill, Noble, Armstrong, Duff and the fast bowler Tibby Cotter. They were strong but not as strong as the 1902 side; the absence of Hugh Trumble (retired) was felt.

Jackson took over a team that had drawn 1-1 in the 1902-03 South Africa Tests and beaten Australia 3-2 in 1903-04. Confidence in English cricket was high. The selection committee — a recent invention — gave Jackson a relatively free hand.

Stanley Jackson, the Yorkshire amateur known to readers of the Wisden almanack as 'F.S. Jackson' or simply 'Jacker', had been a Test cricketer since 1893 but had never previously captained the side. By 1905 he was 35, a Conservative MP, and one of the senior figures in English cricket. He was appointed for the home Ashes series ahead of Archie MacLaren and Plum Warner, both of whom had previously led.

What followed was one of the most personally complete captaincy seasons on record. Jackson won the toss in all five Tests — beating his university friend Joe Darling each time. England won the second Test at Lord's by 282 runs, drew the rest, and won the series 2-0 to retain the Ashes. Jackson scored 492 runs in the five matches at 70.28 — top of the averages on either side — and took 13 wickets at 15.46, also top of both sides' bowling averages.

His individual scores included 144 not out at Headingley, 113 at Old Trafford, 82 not out at Trent Bridge, and 76 and 31 at The Oval. The 144 not out remains one of the most highly regarded of all Headingley innings, played on a difficult surface against an Australian attack of Cotter, Armstrong, Noble and Laver. Jackson never played another Test after the 1905 series; he could not spare the time to tour, and his political career took precedence.

“He topped the batting and bowling averages of both sides.”

Jackson moved into politics full-time, eventually becoming Governor of Bengal (1927-32). He was knighted in 1927 and survived an assassination attempt in 1932 when a Bengali student fired five revolver shots at him in Calcutta — none hit. He died in 1947, aged 76.

The 1905 series was widely regarded as the high-water mark of English Test cricket between Bobby Abel's retirement and the rise of Jack Hobbs. Australia would not regain the Ashes until 1907-08.