John Human


John Hanbury Human was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket in the 1930s before moving to Australia.

Cricket career

John Human was educated at Repton and Clare College, Cambridge. He toured twice with the MCC and was considered unlucky not to be capped by England. He toured India in 1933-34 while still an undergraduate, but could not force his way into a strong batting side. He toured Australia and New Zealand under Errol Holmes in 1935–36 and played in each of the four unofficial Tests in New Zealand.
He played in 49 first-class matches for Middlesex, scoring 1,703 runs, with three hundreds, the highest being his 144 at the Oval in 1935, when he and Hendren added 285 in 210 minutes. That was the year of the "leather-jackets" at Lord's, when crane fly larvae ate much of the grass on the pitch, and also of a change in the LBW law. Most of the Middlesex batsmen were out of form, only Human and Hendren scoring hundreds.
Human was a tall and powerful batsman; Terence Prittie wrote that "his driving stands out in an era when the development of back-play and leg-side technique has put forward play at a discount". He also bowled leg-spin and was a sprightly field.

Later life

Human settled in Sydney and married Mollie Walder, whom he had met on the boat to Australia for the 1935–36 tour. He served in the Australian Army in World War Two with the rank of major. After the war he entered a business career. He also broadcast frequently on cricket.
His older brother Roger Human played 59 first-class matches in the 1930s.