by Mayukh Ghosh

When 'The Invincibles' toured England in 1948, there were two cricketers who received all the letters from the fans.

One was Bradman. For being Bradman.

The other was Miller. For being the most charismatic among them all. Of course, all the ladies wrote to Miller.

Exactly ten years later, another cricketer became the heartthrob of young British women—a 22-year-old New Zealand batsman named Jack D'Arcy.

A handsome, smiling face, a mop of blondish hair, slight in stature—D'Arcy received hundreds of letters for every match he played in that tour.

He was known as 'The good-looking Jack'.

Years later, his daughter discovered stacks of mail among a pile of her father's cricket memorabilia, mainly from young women, expressing admiration for the touring 'pin-up' boy. Result: an embarrassed father.

D'Arcy made his Test debut in that series and went on to play in all five Tests.

He never played another Test.

John Reid said of him: ‘His courage and patience could never be questioned but his limited stroke equipment restricted his batting.’

He knew that he was not good enough to become a good cricketer.

He left the game at 25. He spent 12 years with IBM in Sydney and a year in Singapore.

He had his own company in Sydney until he sold his business in 2000 to another company, which is now owned by Telstra.

Apart from being very successful in his professional career, D'Arcy tasted some success in the horse-racing circuit.

At one point, he owned 35 horses.

But, despite all this, his passion for his first love never faded

He organised the 50-year reunion for the surviving members of the 1958 New Zealand team to England and nothing gives him more pleasure than playing the game and interacting with people learning the game.

He can still be found in Sydney, giving tips to a young boy with a bat in his hand

Jack D’Arcy was born on Apr 23, 1936.
(This piece is part of the 100 short pieces constituting Mayukh Ghosh’s book In a League of their Own)