Background

As a child, Hobbs lived in Rivar Place (near York Street), Cambridge, and attended St Matthew's School. He was self-taught and did not receive any coaching. When he was a boy, he used to field at the college nets during school holidays and play a game of cricket with the college servants. He used a tennis ball and cricket stump as a bat. As a result of this primitive practice, he was able to develop his skill. Even though Jack was only 10 years old, he tried to emulate the strokes he'd seen University men playing in college games.

In his 12th year, he joined the church choir team at St. Matthew's and after that, borrowed by Jesus College choir to bat. The Ivy Boys Club was founded by him and they played cricket and football on Parker's Piece.

First Appearance

On 1st January 1908, Hobbs played his first Test match at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Hobbs scored 83 runs in 182 minutes as England opened their batting on the second day. For England to win, they needed 282, and Hobbs scored 28 to win by one wicket. As a result, he retained his place throughout the series. In the fourth match, he scored 57 on a pitch that had been badly affected by rain. Throughout the game, he hit ten fours and thrashed the bowlers.

In the final match, he scored 72 in his final innings, but he could not prevent a third consecutive English defeat-the home team won 4–1. During Test matches, he scored 302 runs at an average of 43.14. He also scored centuries against Tasmania and Victoria, totaling 876 runs at a 41.71 average.

Ascend to Glory

The winter of 1909 was Hobbs's first visit to South Africa. During that time, South Africans were known for their googly bowlers (back of the hand spinners) and matting wickets (canvas mats laid over level ground). As a result of Hobbs' batting and running skills combined with Wilfred Rhodes' batting skills, they managed to outsmart the South Africans. He made 1,124 runs. In recognition of his performance, he was named the World's Leading Batsman.

In 1911-1912, England was playing with Australia. In the first test, Hobbs partnered with Septimus Kanneir. Their contributions led England to victory in the series. Afterwards he became a national hero in England, and everyone respected and loved him for his best performance.

Low Point

In 1929, Hobbs was stricken with a series of injuries and illnesses, which prevented him from playing cricket. It was his desire to play and give his best for the team, but injuries prevented him from doing so.

He missed the next two Tests after being unfit for the first two against South Africa. This led to speculation that he had retired from Test cricket. These speculations affected him the most.

Hobbs’s Record

• As an opener, Hobbs scored 5130 runs in 97 Test innings with 14 centuries.
• He has 5000 runs as an England player and a test batting average of 56.94.
• The 199 hundreds by any player in the history of first-class cricket are the most.
• Hobbs played 834 first-class matches between 1905 and 1934 during his 29-year career.
• Jack Hobbs’ 61760 runs are the most for any player in first-class history.
• A total of 16 double tons were scored by him during his career, which is tied for the sixth-most in the history of the game.

Retirement

As a result of illness and injuries, Jack Hobbs decided to retire from the game he loved since his youth. In 1934, he retired from the game. After retirement, he worked as a journalist.