Struggles of a cricketer whose son went on to become a world-renowned author

By K.R. Nayar

It was while reporting Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga’s spell of four wickets off successive balls in Guyana against South Africa in the 2007 World Cup and doing a bit of research on deadly spells in cricket that I came across the name Joseph Wells. He was the first bowler to take four wickets in four balls in a first-class cricket match in 1862. What surprised me most was to know that he was the father of the great author HG Wells. Here is an inspiring story of a father’s struggles and his son’s rise to fame. 

Joseph Wells 

I think many of us would be familiar with the short stories written by the famous English writer H.G.Wells. I first read his short stories as lessons in our English textbook at school. His stories lit up my imagination and then I went on to read some more of his works. But 'Time Machine' and 'Invisible Man' were my favourites and I would enjoy reading them again and again. 

Little did I know then that his father Joseph Wells was a cricketer and was the first bowler to take four wickets in four balls in a first-class cricket match! In June 1862, he destroyed Kent’s batting line up by bagging six wickets for 35 runs, and four of those came off successive balls. He also took three wickets in the second innings and gave Kent a 10-wicket win. 

 It was while researching some of the great bowling spells in cricket during Sri Lanka's match against South Africa in Guyana in the 2007 World Cup where Lasith Malinga produced a similar feat that I happened to learn about Joseph being the father of H.G. Wells. Malinga's spell in that match was one of the deadliest that I had witnessed. However, South Africa won that match by one wicket.

Later on, I read more about Joseph and realised that he'd struggled a lot in his life but had ensured that he backed his son who went on to become one of the greatest writers of that era. Joseph's struggles touched me. He is said to have worked as a domestic servant, gardener, and a shop keeper despite being a professional cricketer. Those were the days when even if one played professional cricket, remuneration was irregular and even unreliable. Remuneration for talented bowlers and batsmen depended on donations after the match or if the club where the match was held paid them.

H.G. Wells's 'The Time Machine'

Coming back to Joseph's four-wicket deadly spell, one of his four victims was Spencer Austen-Leigh. That name evoked some curiosity in me and I decided to read a little more about him. Imagine my surprise when I read that he was the great-nephew of author Jane Austen, whose book Pride and Prejudice was also one of my English lessons at school!

Joseph had four children and hence had to work hard to earn a living. H.G. Wells was the fourth child.  His wife also worked as a domestic servant. As a shopkeeper, Joseph sold Chinese goods, but since they were not new, it fetched him little money. But despite not having enough income, he encouraged his children to read books. It was an accident in 1874 that became a turning point in young HG Wells’ life. He was bed-ridden for many days with a broken leg and Joseph got him books to read from a nearby library. This made him a voracious reader and he developed a desire to write. In 1877, Joseph suffered a fractured thigh which put an end to his career as a cricketer, and thus the income from the game too ended.

H.G. Wells 

Since his parents were struggling to make ends meet, H.G. Wells started working as an apprentice. It was an unhappy experience for three years since he had to work 13 hours a day and sleep in a crowded dormitory with other apprentices. It was this experience that was the inspiration for his novel ‘The Wheels of Chance’.

Joseph died at the age of 82 in 1910, but he was proud that his son had risen to become a renowned author who had even the great Sir Winston Churchill, who went on to become the Prime Minister of England, among his avid readers.