Jack Board

Who was Jack Board?

John Henry Board was an English cricketer who played in six Tests from 1899 to 1906.

Jack Board was a wicketkeeper and a right-handed batsman who started out as a tail-ender but developed into a useful player who often opened the innings for his county, Gloucestershire. Picked by W. G. Grace out of Bristol club cricket for the South v North match at Lord's in 1891, Board went straight into the Gloucestershire side afterwards and stayed there for 20 years. In 1895, he set the county record for dismissals in a season, with 75. As a batsman, he scored 214 against Somerset in 1900, the highest by a Gloucestershire wicketkeeper, and in 1903 he shared in a sixth wicket partnership of 320 with Gilbert Jessop against Sussex at Hove, though his share was just 71, while Jessop scored 286. The stand remains the county record for the sixth wicket.

Board was picked for two overseas tours, both to South Africa. He went with Lord Hawke in 1898-99, and won his first two Test caps; he top-scored in his first Test innings, but then never exceeded the 29 he scored in that match. In 1905-06, he played in four Test matches in the tour led by Plum Warner. He was never picked for a Test match at home, and nor did he play against Australia.