him in the role for the rest of the season. He scored his first century for Surrey against Yorkshire and was awarded his County Cap, making 916 runs at an average of 38.16 in the whole season. County cricketer Once Jardine left Oxford, he began to qualify as a solicitor while still playing for Surrey. He made steady progress over the next three seasons but was overshadowed by other amateur batsmen. His contemporaries at Oxford and Cambridge attracted more attention in the press, as did the next generation of amateur batsmen. He was appointed vice-captain to Fender for the 1924 season. Several professionals, such as Jack Hobbs, could have been made vice-captain, but Jardine was preferred as an amateur. In that season, Jardine was selected for the Gentlemen v Players match for the first time and came third in the Surrey averages. In all first-class matches, he scored 1,249 runs at an average of 40.29. In the following season, Jardine was less successful, scoring fewer runs at a lower average and with a highest score of 87 (1,020 runs at 30.90). Suggestions made in the press that Jardine should captain the Gentlemen with a view towards the future of the England Test team, were ignored. In the event, owing to an ankle injury sustained playing village cricket, he was unable to appear in the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's. In 1926, Jardine had his most successful season to date, with 1,473 runs (average 46.03), although he was again overshadowed by other players and by the attention given to the Ashes series being played. Towards the end of the season, his batting became more attractive and his rate of scoring increased as he began to play more attacking shots. His assurance and judgement against all bowling, even international bowlers, increased and he scored 538 runs in his final ten innings. In 1927, Jardine achieved his highest average in a season, scoring 1,002 runs and averaging 91.09 in a very wet summer which led to difficult wickets to bat on. Wisden named him as one of its Cricketers of the Year, commenting that he had improved his style and footwork. That season, he only played 11 matches due to work commitments as a clerk with Barings Bank, for whom he had worked since qualifying as a solicitor. Despite his comparative lack of practice, he scored centuries in his first three matches