(1908-04-28)28 April 1908 Waverley, New South Wales, Australia
Died
22 November 1981(1981-11-22) (aged 73) St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia
Batting
Right-handed
International information
National side
Australia
Test debut (cap 142)
12 February 1932 v South Africa
Last Test
24 August 1938 v England
Domestic team information
Years
Team
1928–1940
New South Wales
Career statistics
Competition
Test
First-class
Matches
18
108
Runs scored
1,189
6,816
Batting average
42.46
44.54
100s/50s
5/3
22/31
Top score
136
167
Balls bowled
0
91
Wickets
–
2
Bowling average
–
27.00
5 wickets in innings
–
0
10 wickets in match
–
0
Best bowling
–
1/6
Catches/stumpings
13/–
81/4
Source: Cricinfo, 26 December 2008
John Henry Webb Fingleton, OBE (28 April 1908 – 22 November 1981) was an Australian cricketer, journalist and commentator. The son of Australian politician James Fingleton, he was known for his dour defensive approach as a batsman, scoring five Test match centuries, representing Australia in 18 Tests between 1932 and 1938.
He made his first-grade debut in Sydney district cricket at the age of 16 and proceeded to his first-class debut for New South Wales at the age of 20 in 1928–29. In 1931–32, Fingleton gained a regular position for New South Wales. He then made his debut in the Fifth and final Test of the season against South Africa, making 40 in an innings victory. The following season, Fingleton won praise for an unbeaten century against the bodyline attack in a tour match despite suffering multiple bruises and being accused of leaking the infamous verbal exchange between Australian captain Bill Woodfull and English manager Plum Warner during the acrimonious Ashes.
Fingleton scored four centuries and was the leading run-scorer during the 1934–35 domestic season, earning a recall to the Australian team for the 1935–36 tour of South Africa. From that point onwards until the outbreak of World War II, he opened the batting with Bill Brown. At his height, Fingleton was scoring centuries in three consecutive innings as Australia won each of the last three Tests by an innings. In the Fourth Test, he and Brown put on the first double century opening partnership for Australia in a Test. In 1936–37, Fingleton made a century in the First Test to become the first player to score consecutive centuries in four Test innings.
Fingleton enlisted in the military during World War II and was eventually sent to work on media matters for Prime Minister John Curtin and one of his predecessors, Billy Hughes. After the war, Fingleton worked as a political correspondent in Canberra and commentated on cricket during the summer months in Australia and England. He was a prolific author, regarded as one of the finest and most stylish cricket writers of his time, producing many books. Fingleton was known for his forthright opinions and willingness to criticise, especially regarding his colleague Don Bradman, and his cricket reports were published by newspapers in several countries.
John Henry Webb Fingleton, OBE (28 April 1908 – 22 November 1981) was an Australian cricketer, journalist and commentator. The son of Australian politician...
Irish journalist and author JackFingleton OBE (1908–1981), Australian cricketer, journalist and commentator James Fingleton (1876–1920), member of the...
became public knowledge. In the immediate aftermath, many people assumed JackFingleton, the only full-time journalist on either team, was responsible. This...
Cricketer. Methuen. ISBN 0-413-77216-0. Fingleton, Jack (1947). Cricket Crisis. London, Melbourne: Cassell. Fingleton, Jack (1981). Batting from Memory. Collins...
following year he and his family were encouraged by former opponent JackFingleton to emigrate and settle in Australia, where he was warmly welcomed, in...
opening batsman JackFingleton; however, for many years (even after Fingleton's death) a bitter war of accusation passed between Fingleton and Bradman as...
John Fingleton may refer to: JackFingleton (John Fingleton, 1908–1981) Australian cricketer and journalist John Fingleton (economist), Irish economist...
Bradman, Archie Jackson, Stan McCabe, Bill Woodfull, Bill Ponsford and JackFingleton. It was the prospect of bowling at this line-up that caused England's...
poplar, oak and elm trees, many of which were planted in the 1920s. The JackFingleton Scoreboard, originally located at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)...
for the press, claiming that only "professional" journalists (such as JackFingleton) were entitled to do so under the Board's rules. This led to open confrontation:...
Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-08060-4. Growden, Greg (2008). JackFingleton: The Man Who Stood Up To Bradman. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen...
November 21 – Ejner Federspiel, Danish actor (b. 1896) November 22 JackFingleton, Australian cricketer (b. 1908) Hans Adolf Krebs, German physician and...
Sir Laurence's sister Philippa married the Australian Test cricketer JackFingleton, OBE. By Susan, Sir Laurence had four children: Kenneth, Sylvia, Alexander...
1926–27. Victoria scored 1107 in two days, with Bill Ponsford scoring 352 and Jack Ryder scoring 295. One of the most sensational incidents in Test cricket...
number of runs added during one batsman's Test innings. Don Bradman and JackFingleton were both unable to bat in either Australia innings, and England won...
Thomson. ISBN 1-875892-01-X. Fingleton, Jack (1949). Brightly fades the Don. London: Collins. Growden, Greg (2008). JackFingleton : the man who stood up to...
American-Canadian high jumper and javelin thrower (d. 1987) 1908 – JackFingleton, Australian cricketer, journalist, and sportscaster (d. 1981) 1908 –...
Ponsford's retirement was premature, while teammate and journalist JackFingleton believed that the task of maintaining such high standards had affected...
original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2022. Fingleton, p. 93. Fingleton, p. 82. McHarg, Jack (1990). Bill O'Reilly, a cricketing life: the authorised...
Woodfull refused to exploit loopholes to dismiss batsmen. On one occasion, JackFingleton was run out after wandering out of the crease to inspect the crease...
Australian team of the 1990s and 2000s. This was not a view shared by JackFingleton, Bradman's batting rival from the 1930s, who wrote 'the 1948 Australian...
JackFingleton. He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of Irish Catholic migrants, James Fingleton, a baker, and his wife Mary. The Fingletons moved...
Sort of A Cricket Person. London: Collins. ISBN 0-00-211748-7. Williams, Jack (2011). "Broadcasting and cricket in England" (PDF). In Bateman, Anthony...
as well as for Test Match Special on BBC radio. In 2000 he won the JackFingleton Award as cricket commentator of the year. He was an ECB-accredited cricket...
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