"THE ART OF BEING JACK"Jack was back at Arundel - the endearingly eccentric Jack - the former England and Gloucestershire wicket keeper/batsman
Jack Russell who makes more money today as an artist than ever as a professional cricketer.
He had a pitch on the hill, behind the corporate marquee, selling prints of his cricket paintings along with his latest book
'The Art of Jack Russell'. He was feverishly signing books for an enraptured queue of fans.
Business was brisk and by 2.30pm he had sold out of stock having brought 3 boxes (60 books). "I should have had more but
the boxes are so damn heavy to carry," he mused. At £25 a pop, a very good morning's work when you add the various sales
of his cricket prints averaging £250 each.
His 145 page book covering painted images of 70 English cricket grounds along with pencil drawings of the many famous
cricketers he has played alongside or against during his professional career was published last year and has already sold thousands
of copies. "I am well into profit," he grinned. It took him 2 years just to write and assemble, describing it as his definitive cricketing
work.
This book represents an end of an era for his 'mistress'. Jack has achieved what he set out to do - to paint every cricket ground
ever played at as a 1st class cricketer.
Fittingly, Jack ranks Arundel in his top 5 behind such cherished grounds as ‘Lords’ and ‘Cheltenham’, describing its quintessential beauty
and atmosphere as unique.
The book has a chapter for each county. Under Sussex there are pencil drawings of his favourite players including John Barclay and
Garth Le Roux as well as Les Lenham whom he names as his No.1 south coast character. Jack writes of his fondness for playing at Hove
surrounded by the murky underworld of Graham Green's 'Brighton Rock'. After a day's play he would hail a taxi to 'The Palace Pier'
and spend the evening on the slot machines.
He cites one memorable 'Carry On' evening when he booked into the Brighton Clarges Hotel and on entering and to his great surprise
was greeted by actress Dora Bryan who turned out to be the owner alongside her husband Bill Lawton, once a Lancashire CCC batsman.
Former Sussex Captain John Barclay is one of Jack’s most favourite people and he can't stop enthusing about him. "He's magic. We go
back a long way. He was a great England manager and being a former cricketer understands players when on tour." For Jack a vital
attribute.
It was Johnny who arranged a secret trip out to South Africa for his wife Aileen. She had never been with Jack on tour before. "It was that
Johannesburg Test in 1995 when Athers and I batted for several years. I returned to the hotel and there she was sitting in my room. I couldn't
believe it!"
Johnny also saved Jack's life, literally for an OCD man, when he persuaded 'The World Cup Committee' on several occasions to allow him to
wear his legendary sun hat - the same one he wore all through his 25 years as a cricket professional. “They wanted to ban it, said it clashed
with the colour clothing, but John managed to persuade them it was grey and not white. I’ll be eternally grateful to him for that.”
Jack is a great fan of out-grounds. He preferred playing at them to the main stadia. He doesn’t like the recent developments. “I was so lucky
to play in an era when all the old grounds were there. It’s all changed now.”
Arundel Castle CC from the Bank
The big news is, Jack is moving away from his beloved Gloucestershire for one simple reason. He’s run out of things to paint. “I’m moving to
the Yorkshire area.” Can you be more specific? “It might be the lakes or dales. I could end up in Northumberland, Scotland is closer. Perhaps,
Dale...ish. I need new excitements.” For a man who blindfolds people before they visit his home, his secretiveness is not surprising.
His future is already mapped out. “I will focus on landscapes and nature along with military portraits for the next 10 years. Then, I’ll begin
another cricket book on the ‘Gloucestershire Glory Days’ which will compromise of paintings and written memories. For now cricket is done.”
There is a certain disdain towards his cricket art. “It gets in the way. I view myself more as a landscape and portrait painter. They are more
challenging.” Jack has painted both Prince Philip and the Duke of Kent. One of his commissioned paintings sold recently for close to
£40,000.
Jack is on tour this summer. His pitch will be at out-grounds like Horsham, Scarborough, Colchester, Worcester and Uxbridge, having already
visited Tunbridge Wells. So, why not meet the man. A delightful, unique and very special treasure that only a quintessential England could produce.
Horsham CC
www.jackrussell.co.uk/Forthcoming Book SigningsSunday 29th June: ~Taunton ~ Somerset v Lancs
Tuesday 8th/Wednesday 9th July: ~ Uxbridge ~ Middlesex v Somerset
Sunday 13th July: ~ Colchester ~ Essex v HantsJust ‘some’ of Jack Russell’s legendary eccentricities: He drinks up to 25 cups of tea a day - dips the tea bag in once, adds plenty of milk, then hangs it on a nail ready for subsequent use. In the final
Test of the 1989 Ashes series at the Oval, Derek Randall counted that Jack used the same bag for all five days.
: He never invites anyone to his house but if in emergencies, Jack blindfolds them first before being put in his car, so they don’t know where he lives.
: While on tour, Russell would eat two Weetabix, soaked for exactly eight minutes in milk, and a mashed banana for lunch. For dinner, steak and chips
or chicken without skin was a favourite meal – Russell once spent every night of a Test at a Chinese restaurant in Perth, ordering cashew chicken without
the cashews.
: While driving between games Russell would be clad in a sleeping bag with the bottom cut out, so as not to get a chill in his back and legs. He also had
a block fitted beneath the accelerator, so as to avoid over-stretching the Achilles tendon.: When Russell was on tour in India, sharing a room with Craig White, he would wash his underwear, white y-fronts, and leave them to dry on the bed-side
lamp.
: Russell carried an emergency repair kit of cotton thread and rubber for his battered sunhat. During the second ‘World Cup Series’ in the West Indies, he
agreed to wash it, and placed the hat to dry in an oven. Forgotten and resultantly overbaked, the hat caught fire, and was only just rescued from total
incineration – the top collapsed like puff pastry on removal. The fire damage could still be seen on the hat years later.
