Jack Simmons (cricketer)
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Jack Simmons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 28 March 1941 Clayton-le-Moors, Lancashire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Flat Jack | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm Off break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | All rounder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1968 to 1989 | Lancashire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1972–73 to 1979–80 | Tasmania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo profile, 4 December 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
John Simmons (b. 28 March 1941) is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire and Tasmania.
Early life
Born 28 March 1941, Clayton-le-Moors, Lancashire, Simmons grew up there. He attended Accrington Technical School and then Blackburn Technical College, where he proved to be a gifted cricketer. He was a professional cricketer in the lower Lancashire leagues and, by his late 20s, Lancashire County Cricket Club had begun to scout him.
First-class career
Simmons was a lower-order right-hand batsman and a right-arm off break bowler. A sharp close fielder, he played into his late 40s.
He was a late arrival to county cricket at the age of 28,[1] but he enjoyed a 20-year career in which he was a regular part of the Lancashire side. His flat bowling trajectory and his accuracy meant that he could be economical in one-day cricket, and he was part of the successful Lancashire side that won the Gillette Cup, the premier one-day competition in England, for three years in a row from 1970 to 1972. Simmons and slow left-arm bowler David Hughes were the first pair of spin bowlers to be used regularly and successfully in one-day cricket, which had previously been the preserve of seam bowling.
In first-class cricket, Simmons reliably contributed more than 500 runs and 50 wickets in many seasons.[2] Even at the age of 47, he took 63 wickets in 1988. The affection for "Flat Jack" in Lancashire was shown by his 1980 benefit, which raised £128,000. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1985.
In 1972–73, he was invited to Tasmania as captain of the state side, whose first-class matches were restricted to games against touring sides. In six seasons as captain, Simmons led Tasmania into full first-class status and into the Sheffield Shield competition from 1977–78.
Later life
After half a dozen matches in the 1989 English season, Simmons retired. He was Lancashire chairman from 1997 to 2008 and is a senior vice-president.[3] Simmons was elected as Chairman of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board in February 2008, for two years.[4][5]
See also
References
- ^ Lyles, C. "Love affair with a single red rose", The Daily Telegraph, 22 March 2008, p. 16
- ^ Statistical summary
- ^ 'Officers Involved at Lancashire Cricket Club'. Lanchashire CCC, undated. Retrieved 1 March 2026
- ^ 'Stalwart Simmons handed ECB role'. BBC Sport, 5 February 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2026
- ^ 'Peter Wright or Tim O'Gorman to replace Jack Simmons as ECB chairman'. ESPN, 28 January 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2026