Jack Watson

John Martin Watson (17 April 1921 – 10 March 2012) was an English cricketer. Watson was a left-handed batsman who bowled right-arm off break. He was born at High Spen, County Durham, and was educated at Blackhall Mill Elementary School.

Watson made his debut for Durham against Northumberland in the 1946 Minor Counties Championship. He played Minor counties cricket for Durham in 1946 and 1947, before joining Northumberland in 1949. He played Minor counties cricket for Northumberland from 1949 to 1955, making 67 Minor Counties Championship appearances for Northumberland. He made a further List A appearance against Sussex in the following round of the same competition. He bowled 13 wicket-less overs, while with the bat he scored an unbeaten single. Sussex won the match by 200 runs. In his Minor counties career for Durham, he took 394 wickets at an average of 16.63, with best figures of 8/88 against Staffordshire in 1953. Outside of cricket, Watson had worked as a police officer with Northumberland Constabulary and later as the chief fire and security officer at Shildon Wagon Works. while his work as a scout had seen him work for Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool United, Carlisle, Birmingham City, Sheffield Wednesday, Celtic, and West Brom. He continued to work for Middlesbrough right up until his death. His funeral was held at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, on 23 March 2012, and was attended by 300 mourners.