| James Shaw | |
| Country: | England |
| Fullname: | James Coupe Shaw |
| Height: | 5ft 9in |
| Nickname: | Jem |
| Birth Date: | 11 April 1836 |
| Birth Place: | Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Death Place: | Sutton-in-Ashfield, England |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Bowling: | Left-arm fast |
| Type1: | FC |
| Debutdate1: | 26 June |
| Debutyear1: | 1865 |
| Debutfor1: | Notts |
| Debutagainst1: | Surrey |
| Lastdate1: | 14 June |
| Lastyear1: | 1875 |
| Lastfor1: | Notts |
| Lastagainst1: | MCC |
| Columns: | 1 |
| Column1: | First-class |
| Matches1: | 115 |
| Runs1: | 467 |
| Bat Avg1: | 4.24 |
| 100S/50S1: | 0/0 |
| Top Score1: | 18* |
| Deliveries1: | 27,321 |
| Wickets1: | 642 |
| Bowl Avg1: | 14.41 |
| Fivefor1: | 59 |
| Tenfor1: | 18 |
| Best Bowling1: | 9/86 |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 62/– |
| Date: | 22 February |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Source: | https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/32/32707/32707.html CricketArchive |
James Coupe "Jem" Shaw (11 April 1836 – 7 March 1888) was an English professional cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire from 1865 to 1875 making 115 appearances. According to WG Grace, few bowlers had a better record.
Shaw was born at Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. He joined Nottinghamshire in 1865 and played every consecutive Notts game over a ten-year period. He also made numerous appearances in representative teams such as the Players in the Gentlemen v Players series, the North of England cricket team and the All-England Eleven. He played against W G Grace many times and had some successes, including twice dismissing him for nought in 1871. Grace said after the second of these that he "would pay particular attention to J C Shaw". In the next innings, Grace scored a double-century. Shaw's comment afterwards was famous for its ruefulness and it has often been quoted: "I puts the ball where I likes and he puts it where he likes".[1]
Shaw was a left-arm round arm fast bowler and took 642 first-class wickets at an average of 14.41 and a best performance of 9 for 86. WG Grace noted that he had a high-delivery that was sometimes difficult to play, and brought his arm from behind with a very quick action making it difficult to see.[2] Shaw still has the best ever bowling figures for Nottinghamshire, taking 10 wickets for 20 runs in a match against an England XI in 1870[3] He was a right-hand batsman and played 176 innings in 115 matches with an average of 4.24 and a top score of 18 not out.[4] Grace described him as a very poor bat – in fact Shaw did not reach double figures until his seventy-second first-class innings, setting a record since equalled only by Eric Hollies for consecutive single-figure innings.[5] Indeed, for Nottinghamshire Shaw reached double figures only once in 109 visits to the crease.
Shaw died at Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, at the age of 51.