John 'Foghorn' Jackson — The Fastest Bowler in England Through the 1850s

Fast bowling in the roundarm era required a combination of pace, accuracy and fitness that few possessed. Jackson's pace was not matched in England until the emergence of the overarm fast bowlers of the 1870s.

John Jackson was born at Bungay, Suffolk, in May 1833 and first played for Nottinghamshire in 1855, quickly establishing himself as the fastest man in England. His nickname 'Foghorn' referred to his booming call to other fielders rather than to any particular quality of his bowling. He was a right-arm fast roundarm bowler who delivered from close to the stumps and relied on raw pace rather than movement, though he could cut the ball off the pitch on helpful surfaces. His 8 for 20 for North v South in 1857 (already documented in the main incident record) was his most famous performance, but he sustained high-quality bowling through a long career with Nottinghamshire, the AEE and representative sides. His pace was genuinely dangerous on the uncovered Victorian pitches: contemporaries reported that facing Jackson was physically frightening, and several batsmen — including some professionals — were noted to be reluctant to face him. He played his last first-class cricket in 1866 and died at Nottingham in November 1901.