John Scott

Who was John Scott?

John Drake Scott was an Australian cricketer and Test match umpire. Scott played as a right-arm fast bowler and was also a useful lower-order right-handed batsman. He was the first man to dismiss Don Bradman in first-class cricket, in December 1927. Scott went on to umpire fifty games, including ten Ashes tests.

Born in Sydney, Scott's first-class playing career ran for two decades, from the 1908-09 to the 1928-29 Australian seasons. During this time he played 59 matches. The bulk of his career was spent with New South Wales, but he moved to South Australia for the 1925-26 season. Scott's best bowling figures were 6-48 against Victoria, taken in the 1909-10. The 1913-14 season saw him make his only century, exactly 100 against Queensland.

After his retirement from playing, Scott stood as a first-class umpire on more than 50 occasions, including ten Test matches between 1936 and 1947. His first match was between Australia and England at the Brisbane Cricket Ground on 4 December to 9 December 1936, a match convincingly won by the visitors. Scott's partner in that match was George Borwick.

Scott and Borwick went on to stand in another nine Ashes Tests matches together: a further four as part of the 1936-37 tour and five more on the 1946-47 tour. Scott's last match was at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 28 February to 5 March 1947.