Jim Hutchinson

Who was Jim Hutchinson?

James Metcalf Hutchinson was an English cricketer who played more than 250 first-class games for Derbyshire between 1920 and 1931. His unique claim to fame is that, of all first-class cricketers around the world, he is so far the longest-lived whose age has been incontestably established.

All but one of Hutchinson's 256 first-class matches were for Derbyshire. He was also selected for a Gentlemen v Players match at Blackpool in 1924, though neither team was of the strength usually sent out in the Lord's and Scarborough fixtures at this time, and the game was over in less than two days. It was, said Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, "a match by no means worthy of its high-sounding title".

Hutchinson never reached 1,000 runs in a season, his closest approach coming with 990 in 1928: he had been well on course at the end of July, having already passed 800, but his highest score in 16 innings thereafter was just 30. In other seasons, his run aggregate and average were often fairly modest, but he held his place in what was, admittedly, a consistently moderate batting side with his cover fielding, which was remarked upon year after year by Wisden. "There was no finer cover point in county cricket than Hutchinson," it wrote in the 1929 edition.