Jack Mason

John Richard Mason (26 March 1874 – 15 October 1958), known as Jack Mason, was an English first-class cricketer with amateur status who played county cricket for Kent between 1893 and 1914, captaining the team between 1898 and 1902. He played for England in five Test matches on A. E. Stoddart's 1897–98 tour of Australia.

Over six feet tall, Mason was a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium pace bowler, classified as a genuine all-rounder. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack considered him to be "one of the finest amateur all-rounders to play for Kent". Mason was chosen as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1898.

Mason was born in Blackheath, then part of the county of Kent, one of seven brothers and three sisters. His father, Richard, had played for Worcestershire before the county gained first-class status, and worked as a solicitor. His mother, Ann, was the daughter of John Eagleton.

Mason attended Abbey School in Beckenham before going on to Winchester College, where he became a prolific batsman, averaging 48 and 55 in his final two years at the school. He scored 147 and 71, and took eight wickets, in one match against Eton College in 1892. He was described by Wisden in 1898, the year he was named as one of its Wisden Cricketers of the Year, as "beyond all question the finest batsman turned out in our time by Winchester College".

Mason's brothers, James and Charles, both played some first-class matches, and three other brothers were also "devoted to the game", all playing for Beckenham Cricket Club.

Mason went on to play as an amateur for Kent County Cricket Club, making his debut in 1893 after leaving school in a County Championship match against Sussex at Foxgrove Road, Beckenham in July. Despite a lacklustre second season, he became a stalwart performer and gave "splendid all-round service". He played regularly for Kent between 1894 and 1902, scoring over 1,000 runs each season from 1895. Mason took over the Kent captaincy in 1898 from Frank Marchant, a position he held for five seasons until his career as a solicitor took precedence, although he captained the team on the field during the final month of the 1909 season when Kent won the County Championship.

After the 1902 season, Mason's father told him he was no longer prepared to pay for his son's cricket career, and that it was time he joined the family firm. Mason played less often thereafter, but was still offered the captaincy of the English team to tour South Africa in 1905–06. He declined, and Pelham Warner captained the team.

Mason toured Australia in 1897–98 as part of the England cricket team's tour. He played in all five Test matches, his only appearances for the England team. Mason performed well at the start of the tour but endured "a long spell of bad luck" and did not live up to expectations. He averaged 12.90 batting and took two wickets in the Test matches, although he scored a century in a first-class match against Victoria in Melbourne, and averaged 39.33 with the bat in first-class matches on the tour. Mason's letters written during the tour later formed the basis of Test of Time, a book about the tour written by Mason's grandson John Lazenby.