# Jack Mason

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For the British World War I flying ace, see [Jack Mason (RAF airman)](/source/Jack_Mason_(RAF_airman)).

**John Richard Mason** (26 March 1874 – 15 October 1958), known as **Jack Mason**, was an English [first-class cricketer](/source/First-class_cricket) with [amateur status](/source/Amateur_status_in_first-class_cricket) who played [county cricket](/source/County_cricket) for [Kent](/source/Kent_County_Cricket_Club) between 1893 and 1914, [captaining](/source/Captain_(cricket)) the team between 1898 and 1902. He played for [England](/source/England_cricket_team) in five [Test matches](/source/Test_cricket) on [A. E. Stoddart's](/source/Andrew_Stoddart) [1897–98 tour of Australia](/source/English_cricket_team_in_Australia_in_1897%E2%80%9398).

Over six feet tall, Mason was a right-handed [batsman](/source/Batting_(cricket)) and right-arm [fast-medium pace bowler](/source/Fast_bowling), classified as a genuine [all-rounder](/source/All-rounder). *[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack](/source/Wisden_Cricketers'_Almanack)* considered him to be "one of the finest amateur all-rounders to play for Kent".[1] Mason was chosen as one of the five [Wisden Cricketers of the Year](/source/Wisden_Cricketers_of_the_Year) in 1898.

## Early life

Mason was born in [Blackheath](/source/Blackheath,_London), then part of the county of [Kent](/source/Kent), one of seven brothers and three sisters. His father, Richard, had played for [Worcestershire](/source/Worcestershire_County_Cricket_Club) before the county gained [first-class](/source/First-class_cricket) status, and worked as a [solicitor](/source/Solicitor).[2][3] His mother, Ann, was the daughter of John Eagleton.[4]

Mason attended Abbey School in [Beckenham](/source/Beckenham) before going on to [Winchester College](/source/Winchester_College), where he became a prolific batsman, [averaging](/source/Batting_average_(cricket)) 48 and 55 in his final two years at the school.[3][5] He scored 147 and 71, and took eight wickets, in one match against [Eton College](/source/Eton_College) in 1892. He was described by [*Wisden*](/source/Wisden_Cricketers'_Almanack) in 1898, the year he was named as one of its [Wisden Cricketers of the Year](/source/Wisden_Cricketers_of_the_Year), as "beyond all question the finest batsman turned out in our time by Winchester College".[5]

Mason's brothers, [James](/source/James_Mason_(cricketer)) and [Charles](/source/Charles_Mason_(cricketer)), both played some first-class matches, and three other brothers were also "devoted to the game", all playing for Beckenham Cricket Club.[5]

## Cricketing career

### Kent from 1893 to 1902

Mason went on to play as an amateur for [Kent County Cricket Club](/source/Kent_County_Cricket_Club), making his debut in 1893 after leaving school in a [County Championship](/source/1893_County_Championship) match against [Sussex](/source/Sussex_County_Cricket_Club) at [Foxgrove Road](/source/Foxgrove_Road), [Beckenham](/source/Beckenham) in July.[5][6] Despite a lacklustre second season, he became a stalwart performer and gave "splendid all-round service".[1] He played regularly for Kent between 1894 and 1902, scoring over 1,000 runs each season from 1895.[7] Mason took over the Kent [captaincy](/source/Captain_(cricket)) in 1898 from [Frank Marchant](/source/Frank_Marchant), a position he held for five seasons until his career as a solicitor took precedence,[1][8] although he captained the team on the field during the final month of the [1909 season](/source/Kent_County_Cricket_Club_in_1909) when Kent won the [County Championship](/source/County_Championship).[9]

After the 1902 season, Mason's father told him he was no longer prepared to pay for his son's cricket career, and that it was time he joined the family firm.[2] Mason played less often thereafter, but was still offered the captaincy of the English team to tour [South Africa in 1905–06](/source/English_cricket_team_in_South_Africa_in_1905%E2%80%9306). He declined, and [Pelham Warner](/source/Pelham_Warner) captained the team.[10]

### 1897–98 tour of Australia

Mason [toured Australia in 1897–98](/source/English_cricket_team_in_Australia_in_1897%E2%80%9398) as part of the [England cricket team](/source/England_cricket_team)'s tour. He played in all five [Test matches](/source/Test_cricket), his only appearances for the England team. Mason performed well at the start of the tour but endured "a long spell of bad luck" and did not live up to expectations.[11] He averaged 12.90 batting and took two wickets in the Test matches, although he scored a century in a first-class match against Victoria in Melbourne, and averaged 39.33 with the bat in first-class matches on the tour.[5][12][13] Mason's letters written during the tour later formed the basis of *Test of Time*, a book about the tour written by Mason's grandson John Lazenby.[14][15]

### Kent from 1903 to 1914

Mason played in the four Kent County Championship winning teams of the years leading up to the [First World War](/source/First_World_War), and played his final game for Kent in 1914.[6] He made one first-class appearance after the war, for L. G. Robinson's XI against the [Australian Imperial Force Touring XI](/source/Australian_Imperial_Force_Touring_XI) in 1919 at [Old Buckenham Hall](/source/Old_Buckenham_Hall_Cricket_Ground) in Norfolk. In total, he played 300 times for Kent, scoring over 15,000 runs and taking 769 wickets.[12][13] His highest score of 183 came against [Somerset](/source/Somerset_County_Cricket_Club) at [Blackheath](/source/Private_Banks_Sports_Ground) while, in 1899, he posted an unbeaten 181 against [Nottinghamshire](/source/Nottinghamshire_County_Cricket_Club) in an unbroken partnership of 321 with [Alec Hearne](/source/Alec_Hearne).[1] This partnership, which was the highest in the County's history until 1934, remained a Kent record for the third wicket until 2005.[16][17] As of April 2016, this remains the fifth highest partnership in Kent's history for any wicket. Mason scored three successive centuries in 1904 against [Yorkshire](/source/Yorkshire_County_Cricket_Club), Somerset, and [Essex](/source/Essex_County_Cricket_Club). He appeared in eleven matches for the [Gentlemen](/source/Gentlemen_cricket_team) against the [Players](/source/Players_cricket_team).[1]

## Style of play

With a height of over six feet,[1] Mason generally played forward when batting, driving cleanly and powerfully.[5] His *Wisden* obituary describes his batting style as "so straight a bat that he was always worth watching".[1] He was equally at home on slow, turning wickets and he averaged 33.27 in first-class cricket.[1] Mason was also an accomplished fast-medium paced bowler and was considered an excellent slip fielder.[1][5]

## Military service

Despite being over the age for compulsory military service at the start of [World War I](/source/World_War_I), Mason volunteered in 1917 for service in the [Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve](/source/Royal_Naval_Volunteer_Reserve) (RNVR).[18] He was commissioned as a [sub-lieutenant](/source/Sub-lieutenant) in the [Hydrophone](/source/Hydrophone) Service and posted first to HMS *Tarlair*, the service's main research and training base at [Aberdour](/source/Aberdour) in [Fife](/source/Fife).[18] He was posted to one of the Hydrophone shore stations at [Freshwater](/source/Freshwater,_Isle_of_Wight) on the [Isle of Wight](/source/Isle_of_Wight) and was, in 1918, promoted to Lieutenant. He volunteered to serve in the newly-formed [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) in April 1918, but was considered too important to be spared by the Hydrophone Service, which was playing a crucial role in combatting German [U-boat](/source/U-boat) attacks.[18] He was demobilised in January 1919.[18]

## Later life

Mason's career was as a solicitor, working at Mason and Co. in [High Holborn](/source/High_Holborn) in London.[19] Like many amateur cricketers of the time, the time required for his profession reduced his playing time but he remained involved with Kent cricket until he moved away from the county in 1939.[2][18] He was a member of the county's General Committee from 1919 and served as the club's president in 1938. He played for and was involved in the Band of Brothers club, closely associated with Kent's county team.[18] Mason died at his home in [Cooden Beach](/source/Cooden_Beach), [Sussex](/source/Sussex) in 1958, aged 84.[1]

## References

1. ["Obituary—John Richard Mason"](http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/228436.html). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. 1959. Retrieved 7 April 2016. – via ESPNcricinfo.

1. Lazenby 2005, p. 102.

1. Lewis 2014, pp. 260–261.

1. Wainewright 1907, p. 453.

1. ["J. R. Mason—Cricketer of the Year, 1898"](http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/154836.html). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. 1898. Retrieved 16 February 2026. – via ESPNcricinfo.

1. ["First-class matches played by Jack Mason"](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/217/First-Class_Matches.html). CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 April 2016.

1. ["First-class batting and fielding in each season by Jack Mason"](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/217/f_Batting_by_Season.html). CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 April 2016.

1. ["Pinky Burnup—Cricketer of the Year, 1903"](http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/154787.html). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. 1903. Retrieved 20 March 2016. – via ESPNcricinfo.

1. ["Obituary—Edward Dillon"](http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/155679.html). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. 1899. Retrieved 21 March 2016. – via ESPNcricinfo.

1. Lazenby 2005, pp. 15–19.

1. ["England in Australia, 1897–98"](http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/154329.html). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. 1899. Retrieved 7 April 2016. – via ESPNcricinfo.

1. ["First-class batting and fielding for each team by Jack Mason"](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/217/f_Batting_by_Team.html). CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 April 2016.

1. ["First-class bowling for each team by Jack Mason"](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/217/f_Bowling_by_Team.html). CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 April 2016.

1. Hoult, Nick. ["Grandfather's footsteps"](http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/220215.html). ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 April 2016.

1. Lazenby 2005, pp. 15–16.

1. Foot, David (2005). ["Surrey docked eight points for ball tampering"](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2005/may/28/cricket.kentccc). The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2016.

1. ["Families of former players receive club caps in ceremony"](http://kentcricket.co.uk/news/former-players-capped-in-club-ceremony). Canterbury: Kent County Cricket Club. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2016.

1. Lewis 2014, pp. 262–263.

1. Wainewright 1907, p. 472.

## Bibliography

- Lazenby, John (2005). *Test of Time*. John Murray. ISBN 978-07-19566-51-6.
- Lewis, Paul (2014). *For Kent and Country*. Eastbourne: Reveille Press. ISBN 978-19-08336-63-7.
- Wainewright, John Bannerman (ed.) (1907). [*Winchester College, 1836-1906. A Register*](https://archive.org/details/winchestercolleg00wincuoft). Winchester: Winchester College. – via Internet Archive.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jack Mason](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Mason) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Mason?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.