Jack Hobbs

Hobbs could not immediately play for Surrey owing to the qualification rules in place at the time for the County Championship. To appear for a county, a player had to be born in that county or to have lived there for two years. To achieve qualification, Hobbs moved to London; he later wrote how much he enjoyed living in the city. Around this time he played football for local teams as a forward with some success. However, he struggled to find employment during the winter months, and despite the off-season pay provided by Surrey, was in financial difficulties.

While qualifying, Hobbs played for Surrey's Colts side and for the "Club and Ground" Eleven, both of which were teams for young Surrey cricketers. He made some substantial scores, including 86 runs in his first match for the Club and Ground, but according to Hobbs' biographer, Leo McKinstry, "Just as he had done for much of his early life, Hobbs performed satisfactorily without doing anything startling". He scored 480 runs at an average of 34.29, as well as taking 19 wickets as his bowling improved. The following season, Hobbs played only for the Club and Ground, increased his average to 43.90, and impressed people connected with Surrey. Hobbs' sudden improvement brought about his return to the Cambridgeshire team, where his batting was praised, particularly when he scored 195 and 129 in two matches against Hertfordshire. Read Less

At the time, Surrey needed a opening batsman to partner Tom Hayward. Although Hobbs had rarely opened the batting, when Hayward captained Surrey in their opening game of the season—the regular, amateur Surrey captain was absent—he selected Hobbs and used him in the position. Read Less

Several leading players were unavailable, giving Hobbs his opportunity, and the team was not regarded as a strong one. Throughout the voyage to Australia, Hobbs was severely affected by sea-sickness, a condition which was to afflict him throughout his life. To assist his recovery, Hobbs missed the first two games of the tour, but even when he felt better, the MCC captain Arthur Jones, who did not rate Hobbs, was reluctant to select him. He played just twice, failing on both occasions, and was subsequently left out of the team for the first Test match. When England lost the game, Hobbs was chosen for the second Test; Jones missed the game. Read Less

Opening the England batting on the second day, Hobbs scored 83 runs in 182 minutes in his first innings. Eventually, England needed 282 to win. Hobbs scored 28 but England went on to win the match by one wicket.

Hobbs retained his place for the rest of the series. In the third Test, he scored 26 and 23, although he was forced to retire hurt in the latter innings. In the fourth match, he scored 57 on a pitch badly affected by rain, adopting a policy of attacking the bowling and hitting 10 fours. He concluded his series with an innings of 72 in the final game, but could not prevent a third successive English defeat—the home side won the five-match series 4–1. Hobbs had scored 302 runs at an average of 43.14. In other first-class matches, Hobbs scored centuries against Tasmania and Victoria, totalling 876 runs at 41.71. The MCC manager praised Hobbs after the tour, but Hobbs himself did not enjoy the tour. He found the travelling tiring and felt very homesick. Read Less

Such form placed him in contention for a place in the England team to play Australia that year, but the strength of English batting at the time meant that he was not a certainty. Furthermore, the England captain, Archie MacLaren, was unconvinced that Hobbs possessed the required quality. However, the Surrey captain and England selector Leveson-Gower persuaded the committee to include Hobbs in the squad, then convinced a reluctant MacLaren to play him in the team. In the first Test, played at Edgbaston, Hobbs opened the batting with MacLaren but was dismissed from the first ball he received. However, the match was a low-scoring one, and Australia set England 105 runs to win. Hobbs, this time opening the batting with C. B. Fry, hit 62 not out and England passed the target without losing a wicket. England lost the second Test by nine wickets, and Hobbs scored just 19 and 9. The home side also lost the third Test. Hobbs scored 12 and 30, the latter the highest score of the innings. In his next game, Hobbs badly injured his finger and missed the remainder of the Test series; in three games, he scored 132 runs at an average of 26.40. England lost the series when the remaining two matches were drawn. Hobbs struggled to regain his form when he recovered from the injury. He averaged 40.65 for the season, but of the 2,114 first-class runs he scored, nearly half came in the first month of the season. Read Less

He scored 1,982 runs at an average of 33.03, the lowest average of his career apart from his first season. Read Less

Unlike the previous season, Hobbs was more controlled in his aggression. Even so, he continued to score quickly, twice scoring 100 runs before lunch on the first day of a match. He and Hayward also shared an opening partnership of 313 in 190 minutes against Worcestershire. Wisden described him as "the best bat" in England, and "one of the greatest bats of his generation";

In the winter of 1913–14, the MCC sent a team to South Africa under the captaincy of Johnny Douglas. The team was strong, but the South African side had few effective players. Although the tour was difficult for political and diplomatic reasons, on the field it was successful. England won the five-Test series 4–0, mainly as a result of the bowling of Sydney Barnes. Hobbs scored 443 runs at an average of 63.28 in the series; he did not score a century, but accumulated scores of 82, 92 and 97. With Rhodes, he shared two century opening partnerships and another of 92. Critics pointed out that Hobbs was more defensive in his approach than he was for Surrey, and Wisden noted that he was "not quite so brilliant as in England" but said that he was "an absolute master on matting wickets pitches." In all first-class matches, he scored 1,489 runs at 74.45. Read Less

At the same time, war in Europe was becoming more and more likely throughout the season. Cricket continued once the war began, but Hobbs' benefit match was moved from the Oval to Lord's. This move, and the public's greater concern for the war, meant that the match was a failure; in total Hobbs' benefit raised £657 which was lower than most benefits and far less than raised for cricketers of Hobbs' standing. The Surrey committee attempted to increase the amount but eventually agreed to give him another benefit when the war concluded. Cricket continued for a little longer, and Hobbs scored his 11th century of the season before public pressure to cease caused Surrey to cancel their final fixtures. However, Surrey were declared County Champions for the only time in Hobbs' career. In all first-class games, he scored 2,697 runs at 58.63. McKinstry notes that during the season: "With his free-scoring method, Hobbs had dazzled in a way that he was never to do again." Read Less

He was still struggling with the after-effects of his operation and Wisden noticed he once more tried to score too quickly early in an innings. However, against Somerset, Hobbs scored the 100th century of his first-class career, the third man to reach the landmark after Grace and Hayward. Overall, he scored 2,087 runs at 37.95. Read Less

Batting conditions were good throughout the summer and Hobbs' opening partnership with Sandham for Surrey began to approach its peak of effectiveness. Having signed a new contract worth £440 per season, Hobbs began the season well. More significantly for the future, Hobbs established an opening partnership with Herbert Sutcliffe. The pair had opened together in a festival match in 1922, in two Gentlemen v Players matches during 1923 and in a "Test trial match" played to assess potential members of the Test match team, also in 1923. The pair were chosen to open in another Test trial early in 1924, and their success persuaded the selectors to include them in the team for the first Test against South Africa. When England batted first, Hobbs and Sutcliffe added 136 for the first wicket; Hobbs, playing a Test innings in England for the first time since 1912, scored 76. England won the match by a large margin. In the second Test, Hobbs and Sutcliffe opened with 268 runs for the first wicket. Hobbs scored quickly throughout, and made 211, his highest Test score. At the time, the innings was the highest played at Lord's in a Test and equalled the highest in a Test match in England. England scored 531 for the loss of two wickets and won the match by an innings. Building a good reputation, Hobbs and Sutcliffe shared 70 in the next Test, and Hobbs then scored 118 for the Players against the Gentlemen, although he faced more criticism for slow scoring. Read Less

The benefit eventually raised £2,670. Further recognition came when he, along with Wilfred Rhodes, joined the England selection committee for the Ashes series to be played that summer; for professional cricketers to serve as England selectors was unprecedented. Hobbs began the season well, scoring a century and several fifties in the lead-up to the first Test, whicht was badly affected by rain and there was little play. Hobbs remained in form by scoring 261 against Oxford University, sharing an opening partnership of 428 with Sandham; this remains a Surrey first wicket record in 2012. Then in the second Test, Hobbs and Sutcliffe shared an opening stand of 182. Hobbs scored 119 but was criticised for batting more slowly as his innings progressed, and some commentators accused him of selfishness—showing more concern for reaching a century than batting for the benefit of England, and possibly depriving England of a chance to win the game, which was drawn. The third Test was also drawn but presented difficulties for Carr and England. The composition of the team was criticised and Carr was not entirely happy with the team chosen; Hobbs accepted some responsibility for the decisions taken. Australia posted a large total and England, despite an opening partnership of 59 by Hobbs and Sutcliffe, followed on. This time the pair began with 156, Hobbs personally scored 88 and the game was saved. During the fourth Test, Hobbs assumed the captaincy when Carr withdrew from the match owing to illness after the first day, becoming the first professional to captain England at home. Read Less

When he returned, he was left out of the Gentlemen v Players game, to his irritation as he believed he had been dropped owing to his age. He responded with a series of large scores, in which he played very aggressively, but then tore a thigh muscle. He resumed cricket at the end of the season and scored his sixth and seventh centuries of the year. He scored 1,641 runs at 52.93, but his absences led to speculation that age was catching up with Hobbs. Read Less