John Wood (cricketer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Wood was the name of two prominent English cricketers during the 18th century. They are often difficult to tell apart and need to be discussed in tandem. One was John Wood of Seal in Kent, who was a noted bowler; the other was John (aka Thomas) Wood of Chertsey Cricket Club in Surrey, who was an all-rounder.

John Wood of Surrey was christened on 1 November 1744 at Coulsdon, Surrey; he was buried at Coulsdon on 12 March 1793.

John Wood of Seal was born in 1745, almost certainly in Kent; he was buried at Seal on 5 July 1816.

The "two Woods" and a few more players like them cause real headaches to researchers on account of the original scorers not having differentiated between them. Other difficult pairs include the Mays, the Pattendens, various Whites, the Rimmingtons, the Boults and even the Beldam, Walker and Wells brothers.

The two players called Wood were active in the 1760s and 1770s. Although the Surrey one has been called Thomas, especially in S&B, it is now thought that they were both called John. A further complication arises with references in Waghorn to the Surrey player as "Woods".

The Kent one, the change bowler who came from Seal, was definitely John Wood. According to Waghorn, he suffered a serious knee injury in 1773 and there were fears of amputation being necessary. However, he was definitely playing again in 1774 so things cannot have been as bad as they first seemed.

The first mention of either player is a tentative one to Wood of Surrey playing for All-England v Dartford in 1759. He is referred to as the long stop. In 1761, there is a reference to "Thomas Woods" in a Chertsey v Dartford match. Then we find a John Wood playing for Caterham (Surrey) against Hambledon in 1769 and also for the Duke of Dorset's XI against Wrotham in the minor match that featured John Minshull's century.

In 1772, we find John Wood of Seal playing for Kent against Hampshire. He is noted by Nyren as a good change bowler who played frequently against Hampshire.

Both players occur in 1773 scorecards and are usually differentiated in S&B by the Surrey one being called Thomas. The Surrey player had a very good season in 1773 and was one of the leading wicket takers that year.

They continued playing until 1783 when both of them disappeared from the scene. Wood of Seal made 15 known first-class appearances from 1772 to 1783. Wood of Chertsey made 13 known first-class appearances from 1773 to 1783. In addition, there are 12 matches from 1773 to 1783 in which a player called Wood made an appearance but we do not know which one.

Unless more detailed scores can somehow be discovered, it is doubtful if the mystery of the two Woods will ever be completely unravelled.