Warwickshire County Cricket Club is mourning the passing of Bears great John Jameson, who sadly died at the age of 84 this past weekend.
Described as an ‘outstanding clubman’ and ‘a Warwickshire Bear through and through’, Jameson also represented England during a distinguished career and played all of his domestic cricket at Edgbaston between 1960 and 1976.
Predominantly a top-order batter for the club, Jameson established a reputation for himself as a hard-hitting opener and, by the end of his playing days, he’d scored just shy of 19,000 First Class runs at an average of over 33, which also included 33 centuries. His partnership, worth a remarkable 465 runs with teammate Rohan Kanhai, against Gloucestershire at Edgbaston in 1974, remains English county cricket’s highest ever second-wicket stand.
Jameson proved to be a true all-rounder, not only delivering in his role as a part-time bowler – he claimed 89 First Class wickets to complement his run haul over the course of his career – but even filling in when required as a wicket keeper, including on one occasion when the Bears had three keepers on the books but needed a deputy because of injuries and international duty.
Warwickshire secured multiple domestic honours during Jameson’s time in the side, most notably when they clinched the County Championship title in 1972 – at that stage, it was the third title won in their history. Jameson also featured as the Bears won the Gillette Cup at Lord’s in 1966, seeing off rivals Worcestershire and then again, two years later, against Sussex.
Jameson was also able to briefly spend time playing with his brother Thomas, who made ten appearances for the Bears and who played a First-Class game in a University Match against Cambridge University in 1970.
In the international sphere, Jameson earned four Test caps and scored 82 in his second Test, against India, in 1971. He also featured in three One Day Internationals for England, including during the tour of the West Indies in 1973/4 and then two appearances in the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
Jameson’s love of the sport was only amplified by the various roles he held after his playing career had concluded; born in India, he returned to the South Asian cricket environment, having represented MCC touring sides in Bangladesh and then aided the development of cricket in the country when spending time there as a coach.
Back in England, Jameson spent many years as Assistant Secretary of Cricket for the MCC, having prior to that also coached at Taunton School and then briefly with Sussex. Between 1984 and 1987, he was also a First-Class umpire and a pitch inspector for the ECB. In 2010, Jameson was awarded an MBE for services to cricket.
Jameson’s teammate and fellow Bears great Dennis Amiss said of his former opening partner, “John was a wonderful opening batsman, and we started our careers together in 1960. I loved batting with him because we complemented one another. He was so confident at the crease and so dominant. If he scored a hundred, it would be maybe just before or just after lunch.”
“He absolutely loved the short ball, taking a record score off Imran Khan in one over at Edgbaston that had the Hollies stand crowd throwing the ball back six times in one over. He was such a fine player and would have been a giant in white ball cricket these days, so wonderful to watch and have in your team. It was my great pleasure to have played with John for all those years. Thanks for all the happy moments, Tub.”