Jack Barrett (cricketer)

John Edward Barrett (15 October 1866 in South Melbourne – 6 February 1916 at Peak Hill, Western Australia) was an Australian cricketer who played two Tests in 1890. He worked as a medical doctor.

Jack Barrett

Portrait of Jack Barrett in 1890
Personal information
Full name	John Edward Barrett
Born	15 October 1866 South Melbourne
Died	6 February 1916 (aged 49) Peak Hill, Western Australia
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
Relations	Edgar Barrett (brother)
International information
National side	Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1884/85–1892/93	Victoria
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class Matches 2 50 Runs scored 80 2039 Batting average 26.66 25.81 100s/50s 0/1 0/13 Top score 67* 97 Balls bowled 0 965 Wickets 0 21 Bowling average – 16.00 5 wickets in innings 0 3 10 wickets in match 0 1 Best bowling – 6/49 Catches/stumpings 1/0 16/0
Source:

Life and career

Barrett pictured 2nd right back row with the 1890 Australian team.

Barrett was educated at Wesley College in Melbourne before going on to Melbourne University to study medicine.[1] His father was a doctor in South Melbourne, and his older brother was also a doctor.[2]

A careful batsman, reliable in a crisis, Jack Barrett played first-class cricket for Victoria from 1885 to 1893.[3] Despite having missed many of Victoria's matches owing to his medical studies, he was selected to tour England in 1890 with the Australian team.[4]

On his Test debut, in the first Test of the series at Lord's, Barrett became the first Australian batsman to carry his bat in Test cricket.[5] In the second innings he opened the innings and batted for 280 minutes and scored 67 not out of a team total of 176.[6] On the tour as a whole he was second in the Australian batting averages with 1305 runs at 22.89.[4] According to A. G. Moyes, he "did a splendid job, showing unlimited patience and splendid defence, though he lacked grace and charm in technique to relieve the monotony".[7] He made his highest first-class score of 97 (and 73 not out in the second innings) in the final match of the tour against an England XI at Manchester.[8]

In addition to his cricketing skills, Barrett was also a leading Australian rules footballer, playing for South Melbourne in the late 1880s and early 1890s, topping the Victorian Football Association (VFA) goal kicking in 1889 with 40 goals.[9]

Barrett undertook further medical studies in England after the cricket tour, earning an MRCS diploma in surgery.[10] He retired from cricket at the age of 26 to pursue his medical career.[1] At the time of his death in the goldfields town of Peak Hill, Western Australia, he had been practising there for some years.[10]

See also

• List of Victoria first-class cricketers

References

1. The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket, Oxford, Melbourne, 1996, p. 51.
2. "[Untitled]". Record: 3. 12 February 1916.
3. "Jack Barrett". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
4. Jack Pollard, Australian Cricket: The Game and the Players, Hodder & Stoughton, Sydney, 1982, p. 100.
5. "Hughes' familiar problem, and Steyn's wickets". Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
6. "1st Test, Australia tour of England at London, Jul 21-23 1890". Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
7. A. G. Moyes, Australian Cricket: A History, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1959, p. 223.
8. "England XI v Australians 1890". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
9. Atkinson, p. 180.
10. "Personal". The Argus: 6. 10 February 1916.

External links

• Jack Barrett at ESPNcricinfo

Sources

• Atkinson, G. (1982) Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking, The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. ISBN 0 86788 009 0.