Jack Temple’s Finest Hour

Although Jack Temple seems to be remarkably energetic and mentally sharp for a man who has recently reached the grand old age of 90, he is only one of several former Rainham players to reach such an age.

Jack, who still resides in Herbert Road, joined Rainham back in the 1930s as a batsman wicketkeeper and had an illustrious career with the club for his entire cricketing life. He also represented the Medway area as a player and became a well known local cricketer. I first saw him perform back in the late 1960s when he was turning out for the Second XI and scoring fifties in a big proportion of matches. A small man, he was a very good back foot player and a particularly good exponent of the square cut which he played at every opportunity and from which he scored a lot of runs. He also kept wicket right up to the latter part of his playing days but my most vivid memory of him behind the stumps was in my first game for the club at Minster in 1968. Standing up to the wicket, he unfortunately got struck in the eye by a flying bail after it had been dislodged by the bowler and not only had to leave the field of play but also had to seek medical attention. He kept wicket very little after this.

Jack Temple’s greatest achievement took place in 1948 when he became the first Rainham cricketer to score 1,000 runs in a season (the exact figure was 1,048) but his finest hour  occurred when he scored his highest individual score of 119 not out against Old Holcs on September 4^th, 1948.

Batting first Rainham had a poor start losing two wickets cheaply before Jack cut loose and began dominating the bowling with some fine shots. He was well supported by John Richardson (16) and Denis Cole (19 not out) but they played a secondary role as Jack rushed to his half century then his century. This allowed Rainham to declare on 176-3.

In reply Old Holcs made a valiant attempt to go for the runs and at 100-2 were well placed for victory but after Fletcher had been removed for 48, Alec Tassell took two quick wickets then Ken Jelly (4-10) finished the Chatham club off to give Rainham an exciting 16 run victory. This was just one of many fine victories for Rainham in 1948 which saw them finish the season with only one defeat under the captaincy of Alec Tassell. Jack Temple played a big part during what was considered to have been the club’s most successful season during the 1940s and the beginning of a highly successful playing period period.

Although Jack Temple is well and truly retired from cricket, he did make a brief comeback for the club while in his seventies and is still involved with table tennis at the Black Lion Sports Centre in Gillingham.

Scorecard

Rainham

J. Temple              not out                                119

D. Thomas           b Pack                                  6

G, Read                ct Gould b Mace               0

J. Richardson      lbw b Fletcher                    16

D. Cole                  not out                                19

                                Extras                                 16

                                Total      (3 wkts)             176

Old Holcs

Wilson                  ct Tassell b Thomas           15

Pack                       lbw            b Mountain      47

Brown                   lbw            b Thomas          2

Fletcher                                  b Jelly                  48

Mace                                        b Tassell            0

Cooper                                    b Tassell             0

Duffield                                ct Tassell b Jelly  0

Gould                                       b Jelly                 17

Christopher        ct Cole     b Read                 11

Brown                                     not out               1

Smith                    lbw              b Jelly                2

                                                     Extras             17

                                                     Total               160

David Wood 2009