John Alfred Newman (12 November 1884 – 21 December 1973) was an English professional first-class cricketer who played county cricket for Hampshire between 1906 and 1930, and in the Plunket Shield for Canterbury in New Zealand for two seasons in the late 1920s. He was born in Southsea, but grew up in the village of Bitterne near Southampton. An all-rounder, he came to the attention of Hampshire as a teenager. A right-handed batsman and right-arm bowler, who was able to bowl medium paced outswingers with the new ball, followed by off spin once the shine had worn off the ball. Debuting in 1906, Newman would make nearly 550 appearances in first-class cricket. In these, he took 2,054 wickets and scored 15,364 runs. He formed a bowling partnership at Hampshire with Alec Kennedy, with the pair sometimes bowling unchanged throughout both innings of a match. He had the distinction of achieving the double on five occasions, and is one of just three players to take over 2,000 wickets, but to never play Test cricket.
Following his retirement, Newman spent the English summers between 1931 and 1939 umpiring, with him standing in 220 first-class matches. During the winter months he coached aboard, predominantly in South Africa, where he later emigrated to. He died in Cape Town in December 1973, aged 89, following a cerebral haemorrhage.
Playing career Early life and pre-war career Newman was born in Southsea on 12 November 1884. At an early age, he moved with his parents to the village of Bitterne near Southampton. He first took up cricket when he played for his local Sunday school team. At the age of 14, Newman attended a match at the County Ground in Southampton, where whilst watching the Hampshire players practice in the nets, he asked Thomas Soar if he could bowl to them, and was given permission. After watching him bowl for a few minutes, Soar fetched Hampshire secretary Fred Bacon, who invited Newman to join the staff at Hampshire when he left school in 1901. He made his debut in first-class cricket for Hampshire against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in the 1906 County Championship, with Newman making a further appearance that season against Kent.
Newman established himself in the Hampshire side in 1907, making first-class 19 appearances. An all-rounder, Newman was a versatile bowler who could open the bowling with medium-paced outswingers, and once the shine had worn off the ball, he would change to bowling off spin. In first full season, he took 46 wickets at an average of 28.91, and took his maiden five wicket haul with figures of 5 for 124 against Sussex in the County Championship. The following season, he made 22 first-class appearances, taking 93 wickets at an average of 20.62; he took five wickets in an innings on seven occasions during the season, in addition to taking ten wickets in a match thrice. His best innings figures in 1908 (8 for 54) came while playing for a Hambledon XII in a commemorative first-class match against an England XI at Broadhalfpenny Down. He was Hampshire's leading wicket-taker in the 1908 County Championship, with 77. In 1909, he took 89 wickets at an average of 20.89 from 23 appearances, taking five wickets or more in an innings on seven occasions; his best innings figures that season were 8 for 43 against the touring Australians at Southampton, a match in which he also took a hat-trick.
In 1910, Newman began what would become a twenty-year bowling partnership with Alec Kennedy. In the 1910 season, he took 156 wickets at an average of 18.45 from 23 matches; he took five wickets or more in an innings on seventeen occasions and took ten wickets or more in a match on seven. He was Hampshire's leading wicket-taker in the 1910 County Championship, and nationally was second in the wicket-taking aggregate, behind Razor Smith's 215. His bowling form fell away in 1911, with him taking 79 wickets at an average of 31.67 from 25 appearances. His bowling returns recovered the following season, with Newman taking 99 wickets at an average of 23.34 from 27 appearances. His all-round credentials would come to the fore in the 1913 season. With the ball, he took 117 wickets at an average of 22.58 from 28 appearances, taking five wickets in an innings on eight occasions. With the bat, he scored 975 runs, more than double his previous highest amount across a season, averaging 21.66. In the 1914 season, which was truncated in August by the outbreak of the First World War, he took 82 wickets at an average of 25.03 from 30 matches. Alongside this, Newman also passed a thousand runs in a season for the first time. His 1,118 runs came at an average of 24.30, and included a maiden first-class century with an unbeaten 107 runs against Somerset, having also taken 5 for 43 in Somerset's first innings. With the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) President Francis Lacey confirming the cessation of cricket during the war, first-class cricket in England would be suspended until 1919.
War service and cricket in India Newman would serve in the war with the 5th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, enlisting alongside other peers from Hampshire. He served with the battalion in British India where he played regimental and first-class cricket. Newman played in the first-class war relief match between an England XII and an Indian XII at the Bombay Gymkhana. He played a further first-class match later in the war, when he played for the Maharaja of Cooch-Behar's XI against the Bengal Governor's XI, a match in which Newman and Frank Tarrant took every wicket to fall in both of the Governor's XI innings. Shortly after the cessation of hostilities in November 1918, Newman played for an England XII against an Indian XII at Bombay, and whilst awaiting demobilisation he made two further first-class appearances, playing twice for the Maharaja of Cooch-Behar's XI against the Bengal Governor's XI and Morice Bird's personal XI, in December 1918 and January 1919 respectively. In the latter two fixtures he had success, taking five wicket hauls in both.
Post-war career Newman missed the resumption of cricket in 1919 as he was still awaiting demobilisation in India. He returned to England ahead of the 1920 season, where he resumed his career with Hampshire. Making 26 appearances in the 1920 County Championship, he took 111 wickets at an average of 25.33, having taken five wickets or more in an innings on eight occasions. He was second in Hampshire's Championship bowling aggregates, behind compatriot Kennedy who took 164 wickets; between the pair, they accounted for 285 of Hampshire's wickets. With Hampshire losing several cricketers during the war, Newman's medium-pace was utilised more opening the bowling in order to adjust the balance of the depleted Hampshire team. The following season, Newman achieved the double for the first time. With the ball he took 177 wickets at an average of 21.56 from 29 matches; he took five wickets in an innings on 13 occasions and ten wickets in a match thrice. It was to be his most successful season as a bowler, with his 177 wickets the second highest taken by a Hampshire bowler in a season. He took his career best bowling figures of 9 for 131 against Essex at Bournemouth in June. Newman and Kennedy again led the Hampshire attack in 1921, bowling between them 14,792 deliveries and taking 340 wickets. Against Sussex at Portsmouth, Newman and Kennedy bowled unchanged throughout the match. With the bat, he scored 1,065 runs at an average of 30.42. His sole century in 1921, an unbeaten 166 against Glamorgan, was to be the highest score of his first-class career.
Newman did not achieve the double in 1922, but did take 122 wickets at an average of 24.37 from 31 matches, claiming five wickets or more in an innings on seven occasions. He was involved in controversy during the season when Hampshire played Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in the County Championship. In response to the crowd barracking him for perceived timewasting, he refused to bowl, resulting in Hampshire's captain Lionel Tennyson ordering him from the field, responding to Tennyson by kicking down the stumps as he left the field. At the close of play Tennyson summoned him into the amateurs' changing-room. "Jack," he said, "you have this afternoon disgraced the annals of Hampshire cricket... Hampshire cricket, mind you, the cradle of the game. You must send a letter of apology. Sit down; here's pen and paper. I'll dictate the letter." Tennyson proceeded to speak out loud a letter to the president of Nottinghamshire in which Newman offered his profound apologies. A second letter, to Arthur Carr, the Nottinghamshire captain, followed. Tennyson then dictated a letter from Newman to himself: "Now, Jack, a final letter. To the Hon. L H Tennyson, captain, Hampshire County CC, Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire. Dear Skipper, I humbly regret my behaviour, and so on, you confounded old villain; and don't let us have a repetition of your disgraceful conduct. And, good evening to you, Jack, and, damn you, take this." Upon completion, Tennyson thrust a five-pound note – a considerable sum in those days – into Newman's hands. In the 1922 season, he played for the MCC for the first time, and was chosen to represent the Players in the Gentlemen v Players match.
Newman achieved the double for the second time in 1923. He scored 1,006 runs at an average of 22.86 from 30 appearances, making one century. With the ball, he took 148 wickets at an average of 25.25, claiming five wickets or more in an innings on eight occasions, while taking ten or more on four. For the second time, Newman and Kennedy bowled unchanged against Somerset in 1923. In 31 appearances in 1924, Newman struggled for batting form, with his bowling returns also diminishing. He took 87 wickets at an average of 31.01, but nonetheless against Sussex he managed to dismiss three Sussex batsmen in four balls. His bowling returns further declined in 1925, with 65 wickets at an average of 35.12 from 31 matches. Both his batting and bowling form recovered in 1926, with him achieving the double for the third time. In 33 appearances, he scored 1,468 runs at an average of 32.17, making two centuries. With the ball, he took 154 wickets at an average of 24.70, claiming five wickets or more in an innings on nine occasions, while taking ten or more on five. He achieved his best all-round performance during the season, scoring 66 and an unbeaten 42 runs and taking 14 wickets for 148 runs against Gloucestershire in the County Championship.
Newman again achieved the double in the following season. In 32 appearances he scored 1,448 runs at an average of 32.17, making three centuries. With the ball, he took 115 wickets at an average of 23.19, claiming five wickets or more in an innings on nine occasions, while taking ten or more on three. He took his career-best match figures of 16 wickets for 88 runs against Somerset in the County Championship; this would remain the best match figures taken by a Hampshire bowler until 2019, when Kyle Abbott took 17 wickets for 86 runs. He also scored two centuries in the same match against Surrey, both scores of 102, with one unbeaten.
Playing in New Zealand and retirement