Gilbert Jessop

Gilbert Laird Jessop was an English cricket player, often reckoned to have been the fastest runscorer cricket has ever known. He was Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1898.

Jessop was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Nicknamed The Croucher because of his unusual hunched stance at the crease and though a stocky build at 57 andstone, he remained a fast bowler through his career. He was also a powerful driver, cutter and hooker. The Fifth Test at The Oval in August 1902, known as Jessops match, highlighed Jessops ability to play quickly. England had an unlikely onewicket victory against a quality Australian side who set England 263 to win in the fourth innings. Jessop came to the crease with England at 48 for 5. He scored his first 50 runs in 43 minutes and reached his century in 75 minutes. He was eventually dismissed after 77 minutes for 104, which includedfours and an allrun five. Many of the fours had well cleared the boundary, but the laws of cricket in 1902 meant that to obtain six runs the ball had to be hit out of the ground. One of these fours was caught on the players balcony. A newspaper managed to keep a detailed record of his innings

Source: Wikipedia