Name:

Gregory, John M

Nickname:

Jack

Date of Birth:

14 Aug 1895

Gender:

Men

Place of Birth:

North Sydney, NSW, Australia

Date Died:

07 Aug 1973

Career:

Test: 1920 - 1928
First Class: 1920 - 1929

Teams:

NSW (Regional)
Australia (Country)

1921: Armstrong leads Australia to 5-0 thumping of England (Sydney)

Jack Gregory: Towering, powerful all-rounder scored fastest century

John "Jack" Gregory was born on 14 August 1895 in North Sydney, NSW and died on 7 August 1973 in Bega, NSW. He was a hard hitting left handed batsman and right arm fast bowler.

He played in 24 Tests between 1920 and 1928. He was known mainly as a fearsome right-arm fast bowler but he also achieved a batting average of 36.50 and 1146 runs including two centuries, batting left-handed and gloveless. He also batted without a box.His best bowling was 7/69 in an innings and 8/101 in a match at the 1920/21 Test against England at the MCG. He formed a strong bowling partnership with Ted McDonald.

At the Johannesburg Test in 1921 he scored a century from 67 balls in 70 minutes, which was at the time the fastest hundred in terms of both balls faced and minutes taken in the history of Test cricket. The record stood until 1985 when Viv Richards beat this feat with 56 balls but it remains the record for the fastest hundred in terms of minutes. His record of 15 catches in the 1920–21 Ashes series still stands as the record for the most catches by a fieldsman in a Test series.

He was Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1922 after a successful tour of England under Warwick Armstrong.

Jack was son of Charles Gregory and cousin of Sid. He was also the nephew of two of the pioneer Australian Test cricketers, Dave and Ned Gregory. He suffered a knee injury in the 1928 Brisbane Test after bowling 41 overs. This brought his cricket career to an abrupt finish.

Source: CricketCrowd Staff Reporter