Jem Broadbridge of Duncton, three years younger than Lillywhite and his partner at the other end, was the second of Sussex's twin roundarm spearheads of the 1820s. A right-arm fast-medium bowler and hard-hitting batsman, he was according to Haygarth 'for some seasons the best general cricketer in England, both as batsman, bowler and single wicket player'. He walked the 60-mile round trip from Duncton to Brighton to play for Sussex.
Broadbridge had been playing club cricket in West Sussex since his teens. His first-class debut came in 1814 with a Sussex side that was already pioneering the new bowling style. By the early 1820s he was an automatic selection for Sussex.
By 1825 Broadbridge and Lillywhite had become the strongest opening attack in England. The MCC's tolerance of their roundarm action, in defiance of the formal law, was largely a recognition that no county side could compete with them.
James Broadbridge — known to teammates as 'Our Jem' — was born at Duncton, a village near Petworth in Sussex, on 25 June 1795. He came from a farming family and worked the land all his life, never marrying, living in the same village from birth to death. His first-class career spanned the 1814 to 1840 seasons, with the bulk of his appearances coming in the 1820s and early 1830s. As a bowler he delivered right-arm fast-medium roundarm with a high arm action that pushed the limits of the existing law; as a batsman he was an aggressive hitter with a highest score of 135. With Lillywhite he formed the most feared bowling pair of the late 1820s and was central to Sussex's claim to be champion county. He bowled in two of the three roundarm trial matches of 1827, taking a total of 14 wickets in the first match alone (counting both innings, he and Lillywhite shared all the scoring). Broadbridge's commitment was legendary: he regularly walked the 30 miles from Duncton to Brighton on the day of a match, played, and walked back the next day. He died at Duncton in 1843, aged 47, having played in 102 first-class matches and taken at least 324 wickets.
25 Jun 1795: Born at Duncton, Sussex
1814: First-class debut for Sussex
1820s: Emerges as one half of Sussex's roundarm attack with Lillywhite
1827: Takes 14 wickets across two innings of the first trial match at Sheffield
Highest score 135
Walks 60 miles round trip Duncton-to-Brighton for matches
1840: Final first-class appearance
1843: Dies at Duncton, unmarried, aged 47
1795
Born at Duncton, Sussex
1814
First-class debut for Sussex
1827
Roundarm trial matches
1840
Final first-class match
1843
Dies at Duncton
Broadbridge never matched Lillywhite's longevity — he played his last first-class match in 1840 and died three years later — but his place in the roundarm revolution was secure. Haygarth's verdict that he was 'the best general cricketer in England' for some of the late 1820s placed him above his more famous partner as an all-rounder.
The other half of Sussex's roundarm pair — less famous than Lillywhite, less accurate, but according to Haygarth the more complete cricketer of the two during the great Sussex years.
Broadbridge is less celebrated than Lillywhite in the long memory of cricket, partly because his career was shorter and partly because he never had the publishing dynasty to keep his name alive. But the roundarm revolution had two engines, not one, and Broadbridge was as much a part of it as Lillywhite.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.