Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs (16 December 1882 – 21 December 1963) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Born into poverty in Cambridge, Hobbs displayed little distinction as a cricketer until relatively late in life. After some limited early success, he began to aspire to a career in professional cricket, and a sudden improvement in 1901 made this more likely. Following the death of his father, the whole family depended on Hobbs but he was supported by Tom Hayward, a professional cricketer who played for Surrey. Hayward arranged for Hobbs to have a trial at Surrey, and after he was successful, Hobbs spent two years qualifying to play County Cricket.
Hobbs was immediately successful when he made his debut for Surrey, but his batting form went into decline in the rest of his first season. However, he established himself in the following seasons as one of the best and most promising professional batsmen in England. He was chosen to tour Australia with an England team in 1907–08, and retained his place in the team when England next played Test matches in 1909. While successful, it was not until Hobbs toured South Africa in 1909–10, where he established his dominance over the feared South African googly bowlers, that he established himself fully at Test level. By the time of his next series, in Australia in 1911–12, he was regarded by critics as the best batsman in the world and scored three centuries in the series. He maintained his position as the world's leading batsman until war broke out in 1914. Hobbs established a very effective opening partnership with Wilfred Rhodes at Test level, and another with Hayward for Surrey. By 1914, Hobbs was batting in a very aggressive, attractive manner that he would never recapture again when his career resumed after the war.
Early life
Childhood
Hobbs was born in Cambridge on 16 December 1882, the eldest of 12 children born to John Cooper Hobbs, a slater, and his wife Flora Matilda Berry. Hobbs was born in a cottage belonging to his maternal grandfather, situated in a poor, run-down area of the town, but the family moved into their own home shortly after his birth. However, throughout his childhood, Hobbs' family remained in poverty, and conditions for the working class in Cambridge were poor. Hobbs later wrote that, although he had a happy childhood, he had envied those who lived a more privileged life in Cambridge's more affluent areas and his childhood experiences left him with a sense of inferiority. The family moved house several times during this period.
Hobbs' father had a great love of cricket and his performances playing for a short-lived club formed by him and his colleagues led to an offer of employment as a professional cricketer at Fenner's, the cricket ground of Cambridge University. His main duties were umpiring matches on the ground and bowling in the cricket nets to undergraduates. Although the pay was poor, Hobbs senior was happy to have achieved his lifetime ambition of a career in cricket. In 1889, he was appointed to the more prestigious position of groundsman and umpire at Jesus College, where Hobbs junior was able to watch cricket practice and occasionally become involved, although he received little formal coaching from his father, who was reluctant to exploit his position. Nevertheless, Hobbs soon acquired a love of cricket from his father. Hobbs later claimed that his father rarely coached him, but his mother once recounted that Hobbs senior "trained him carefully since he was old enough to hold a bat". From an early age, Hobbs played cricket whenever he could and his first games were played in the streets near his house. He and his father frequently discussed the game and Hobbs closely followed local cricket.