Archie Jackson - Hardcover

Frith, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1851451196 ISBN 13: 9781851451197

Publisher: Pavilion, 1987

Synopsis

A contemporary of Bradman, the Scottish-born Jackson made his first-class debut for New South Wales at the age of seventeen, and his arrival on the Test scene in 1929 eclipsed even Bradman's when the tall, willowy nineteen-year-old scored 164 elegant runs against England on his Test debut. The artistry and classical perfection of his batmanship enchanted purists and partisans alike, and Jackson seemed set for cricketing immortality when lingering poor health turned into pulmonary tuberculosis. In 1933, in the middle of the following, acrimonious England tour, Archie Jackson's death cast a shadow over the whole cricketing world. David Frith recounts the glorious events of Jackson's all too brief career as Australia's biggest young star and writes simply but movingly about his desperate fight against his disease, about the love affair which sustained him during his illness - culminating in betrothal just a week before he died - and the emotional scenes as Jackson's body was taken home. This is a masterly account of the briefest, saddest and most tantalising of great cricketing lives.

About this title

Review

'A pearl of diligent research and another remarkable book' --Ian Wooldridge

'A true likeness of a modest, friendly and courageous man. An absorbing and inspiring story' --Ian Peebles

'Frith has negotiated the fine, dangerous line that separates pathos from bathos. All cricket-lovers are in his debt for pinpointing facts unknown or forgotten.' --Rohan Rivett

Edition details

• Publisher: Pavilion
• Publication date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1851451196
• ISBN 13: 9781851451197
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128