the school about his ability to unify the team. Under Jardine, Winchester won their annual match against Eton College in 1919, a fixture in which Eton had usually held the upper hand. Jardine's batting (35 and 89 in the match) and captaincy were key factors in his side's first victory over Eton for 12 years. Years later, after his retirement from cricket, he named his 89 in that match as his personal favourite innings. Jardine went on to score 135 not out against Harrow School. Jardine's achievements in the season were widely reported in the local and national press. He played two representative matches, for the best schoolboy cricketers, at Lord's Cricket Ground, scored 44, 91, 57 and 55 and won favourable reviews in the press. Wisden, in 1928, described Jardine at this time as being obviously of a much higher standard than his contemporaries, particularly in defence and on side batting. However, he was criticised for being occasionally too cautious and not using all the batting strokes of which he was capable—his good batting technique gave the impression that he could easily score more quickly if he so desired. First-class career Oxford University Jardine entered New College, Oxford, in September 1919 at a time when the university was more crowded than usual due to the arrival of men whose entrance had been delayed due to the war. He took part in several sports, representing New College as goalkeeper in matches between the colleges, and being given a trial for the university football team, although he was not chosen. He continued to play rackets and began to play real tennis, making such progress and showing such promise that he went on to represent the university successfully and won his Blue. In cricket, Jardine came under the coaching of Tom Hayward who influenced his footwork and defence. Wisden commented in 1928 that Jardine had come with an excellent reputation, but did not quite achieve the success which was expected. His batting ability, particularly defensively, remained unquestioned. In the 1920 season, Jardine made his first-class debut, played eight first-class matches and scored two fifties. Playing mainly as an opening batsman, he won his Blue, appearing in the University Match against Cambridge but fell short of expectations, and continued to be criticised for over-caution with the bat. In all, he scored 217 runs at an average of 22.64. In the match for Oxford