title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs began the 1909 season with a succession of large scores, including a double century in one match and two separate centuries in another. Such form placed him in contention for a place in the England team to play Australia that year, despite the English batting strength. But the England captain, Archie MacLaren, was unconvinced that Hobbs possessed the required quality. The Surrey captain and England selector H. D. G. Leveson Gower persuaded the committee to include Hobbs in the squad, then convinced a reluctant MacLaren to play him in the team. In the first Test, played at Edgbaston, Hobbs opened the batting with MacLaren but was dismissed from the first ball he received. The match was a low-scoring one, and Australia set England 105 runs to win. Hobbs, this time opening the batting with C. B. Fry, hit 62 not out and England passed the target without losing a wicket. England lost the next two matches, and Hobbs was unsuccessful, with a top-score of 30 in four innings. A badly injured finger meant that he missed the remainder of the Test series; in three games, he scored 132 runs at an average of 26.40. England lost the series when the remaining two matches were drawn. Hobbs struggled to regain his form when he recovered; he averaged 40.65 for the season, but of the 2,114 first-class runs he scored, nearly half came in the first month of the season.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs accepted an invitation to tour South Africa that winter with the MCC. The cricketing conditions were challenging: matches were played on matting pitches, unfamiliar to English players, and the South African googly bowlers had previously troubled most leading English batsmen, provoking debate over how batsmen could combat the new delivery. The MCC captain, Leveson Gower, selected Wilfred Rhodes to open the batting with Hobbs for the first Test. Rhodes, a defensively-minded batsman who excelled at taking quick singles, had begun his career as a bowler who batted down the order. He steadily improved his batting, eventually becoming an opening batsman. Hobbs and Rhodes, between 1910 and 1921, opened the batting 36 times for England and shared eight century partnerships; their average of 61.31 runs per opening partnership remains the second highest in Test history. In other first-class cricket, they shared a further five century opening partnerships. Their association was notable for effective running; the pair developed such an unusually good understanding that they were able to run without calling to each other. They scored singles by pushing the ball just past nearby fielders and running quickly. Critics believed that they raised the art of running to a new level.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: This tactic developed from the first day that Hobbs and Rhodes batted together in the first Test; they added 159 runs for the first wicket. Hobbs scored 89 in the first innings and 35 in the second, and while England lost narrowly, he appeared much more comfortable than the other English batsmen against the googly. Hobbs and Rhodes shared a partnership of 207 in the tour match following the Test, in which Hobbs scored 163. England also lost the second Test, but Hobbs scored 53 and 70, sharing two substantial opening partnerships with Rhodes. The failure of the other batsmen, defeated by the googly bowlers, caused consternation in the English press. As England had few effective pace bowlers on the tour, Hobbs opened the bowling in the first two Tests, as well as the batting. In the third Test, he scored 93 not out to guide England to a three-wicket victory. However, the series was lost when England were defeated in the fourth match; Hobbs scored 0and 1, the only time in his Test career that he failed to reach double figures in either innings, and his worst match return in first-class cricket. In the final game of the series, he scored his first Test hundred, opening the batting and sharing a partnership of 221 with Rhodes which was a record at the time for the first wicket in Test matches. Hobbs scored 187, an innings praised by "Wisden" for its "brilliancy". In this match he once more opened the bowling, dismissing Reggie Schwarz, his only Test wicket. England won the match by nine wickets and the series finished 3–2 against them. Hobbs scored 1,124 first-class runs at an average of 66.11 on the tour, while in the Test matches, he scored 539 runs at 67.37. None of the other English batsmen came close to matching his success against the googly, and by the end of the series, critics were beginning to describe him as the world's leading batsman. "Wisden" commented: "Beyond everything else from the English point of view the feature of the trip was the superb batting of Hobbs, who easily adapted himself to the matting wickets and scored from the famous googly bowlers with amazing skill and facility. When they came home the other members of the team could not say too much in his praise."


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Fatigue from the South African tour affected Hobbs in 1910. He scored 1,982 runs at an average of 33.03, the lowest average of his career apart from his first season. More effective during 1911, after a long rest during the winter, Hobbs was consistently successful in a hot, dry summer which produced good batting pitches. He played few large innings, but was very effective in high-pressure games, and scored 2,376 runs at 41.68. Bowling more frequently than in other seasons, Hobbs took 28 first-class wickets. Against Oxford University, Hobbs bowled throughout the second innings to take seven wickets for 56 runs, the best figures of his career.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs was an automatic selection for the MCC tour of Australia in the winter of 1911–12. During the first Test, which Australia won by 146 runs, Hobbs scored 63 in the first innings, although by his own admission he did not play well. Rhodes was in the team, but did not open the batting owing to his poor form; Hobbs opened with Septimus Kinneir. England recovered to win the second Test; after bowling Australia out for 184 and taking a first-innings lead of 81, the visiting team eventually faced a target of 219 to win. Hobbs and Rhodes, restored to the opening position, began with a partnership of 57. Hobbs scored 126 not out, his first century against Australia, and scored particularly well from the bowling of H. V. "Ranji" Hordern, a googly bowler who had taken 12 wickets in the first Test. "Wisden" commented that Hobbs "played one of the finest innings of his life", and England won by eight wickets. Australia were once more bowled out for a low score in the third Test; this time Hobbs and Rhodes added 147 for the first wicket and Hobbs scored 187. England reached a total of 501 and won the match by seven wickets.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Having established a lead in the series, England began the fourth Test by bowling Australia out for 191. At the end of the first day, Hobbs and Rhodes had scored 54 together, and the next day they took their partnership for the first wicket to 323, setting a new record for the highest partnership for any wicket in Test matches. Their partnership remained an overall Test record for 22 years and the highest for the first wicket until 1948. As of 2016, this remains England's highest opening partnership against Australia. The pair scored easily from the bowling but faced criticism for slow batting. Even so, Hobbs reached a century in 133 minutes and proceeded to play more aggressively afterwards. He was finally dismissed for 178. England reached a total of 589 and bowled Australia out for 173 to win the match by an innings and regain the Ashes. England also won the final Test to take the series 4–1; Hobbs scored 32 and 45, sharing a partnership of 76 with Rhodes in the second innings. Hobbs ended the series with an aggregate of 662 runs at an average of 82.75, setting a new record number of runs for an individual batsman in a Test series. His average was far greater than any other batsman on either team, and the tour established him as the world's best batsman. In addition, in all first-class matches he ran out 15 batsmen while fielding at cover point. The Australians did not dare run when he fielded the ball for fear of the speed of his throw. In all first-class matches, Hobbs scored 943 runs at 55.47.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: The 1912 season was unusually wet, which resulted in some very difficult pitches for batting. "Wisden" remarked that Hobbs did not bat particularly well for Surrey. The press criticised him for trying to score too quickly and losing his wicket in the process. During the summer, both Australia and South Africa toured England, taking part in the Triangular Tournament. Hobbs made a slow start to the competition when he was bowled in the first over in England's opening match, and his form was uncertain in the early part of the season. However, he scored a century against Australia at Lord's Cricket Ground on a very difficult batting pitch in England's second game, sharing a partnership of 112 with Rhodes. He continued with scores of 55 and 68 in the next two games against South Africa, and his batting was praised by the press; for the first time, in the "Times", he was referred to as "a great master". South Africa were defeated in five of their six games (the other was drawn). As the first two games between England and Australia were drawn, the final match was designated as the deciding match for the tournament. Hobbs and Rhodes opened with 107, and Hobbs scored 66. These runs were crucial and England won the game by 244 runs. Hobbs had the best batting average for the summer from all three teams; he averaged 40.75 against South Africa and 56.00 against Australia. In all first-class cricket his aggregate was 2,042 runs at 37.81.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: In 1913, batting in a more controlled fashion, Hobbs scored 2,605 runs at an average of 50.09, placing him second in the national averages. He continued to score quickly, twice scoring 100 runs before lunch on the first day of a match; against Worcestershire, he and Hayward shared an opening partnership of 313 in 190 minutes. In the winter of 1913–14, the MCC sent a strong team to South Africa. The opposition team lacked effective players, and England won the five-Test series 4–0, mainly as a result of the bowling of Sydney Barnes. Hobbs scored 443 runs at an average of 63.28 in the series; he did not score a century, but accumulated scores of 82, 92 and 97, while he and Rhodes shared two century opening partnerships and another of 92. Hobbs adopted a cautious approach, and "Wisden" noted that he was "not quite so brilliant as in England" but said that he was "an absolute master on matting wickets [pitches]." In all first-class matches, he scored 1,489 runs at 74.45.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: After a slow start to the 1914 season, Hobbs recorded a string of centuries, including a score of 226, his highest at that time. The looming First World War overshadowed much of the season. Cricket initially continued once the war began, but as the Oval had been requisitioned by the military, Hobbs' benefit match was moved from the Oval to Lord's. This move, and the public's preoccupation with the war, consigned the game to a financial failure; in total, Hobbs' benefit raised £657 (£80,663 in 2021 terms), lower than most benefits and far less than usually raised for cricketers of Hobbs' standing. The Surrey committee agreed to give him another benefit when the war concluded. Hobbs scored his 11th century of the season before public pressure terminated the cricket season. During the winter, the MCC declared Surrey as County Champions; although the war prevented the completion of all the matches, Surrey led comfortably enough for the other counties not to object. This was the only time in Hobbs' career that Surrey were champions. In all first-class games in 1914, he scored 2,697 runs at 58.63. As the war began, Hobbs reputation was at its peak; he was described by "Wisden" as "one of the greatest bats of his generation". McKinstry states that during the season: "With his free-scoring method, [Hobbs] had dazzled in a way that he was never to do again."


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Unlike many other cricketers, Hobbs did not immediately join the army, but worked in a munitions factory, possibly as a clerk. Writing later, Hobbs related that he was criticised for not joining up, but suggested he did not realise how serious the war would be, and was conscious of the need to care for his family. From March 1915 he found extra work as coach at Westminster School, and in May began to play on Saturdays as a professional for Idle in the Bradford Cricket League. The continuation of competitive cricket in Bradford, when all other such cricket had ceased, was controversial. Several clubs hired top-class professionals and matches became very popular. Although his arrival was eagerly anticipated, Hobbs never reached the expected heights, averaging 36.63 throughout the 1915 season. But his signing provoked an angry exchange of correspondence between the Yorkshire president Lord Hawke, who was highly critical of the employment of professionals, and John Booth, the president of the Bradford League. Hobbs never publicly commented on the matter, but was instrumental in recruiting Frank Woolley to play in the league. He continued to play for Idle in 1916, and was more successful, scoring 790 runs at 52.60 and taking 65 wickets at 6.27. But his conscription after the season into the Royal Flying Corps ended his regular cricket in the league.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs joined the Corps in October 1916 as an air mechanic and after training was posted to London, then Norfolk; at first he had time to appear in charity cricket matches and in several games for Idle. In November 1917, he joined 110 Squadron which remained in England despite plans to send it to France. By 1918, the cricket authorities began to arrange more matches and Hobbs played successfully several times at Lord's. In September 1918, 110 Squadron, as part of the newly formed Royal Air Force (RAF), was sent to France and took an active part in the fighting, but Hobbs never discussed his career in the RAF. Even so, some of his family remained critical and felt that the worst of the war was over when Hobbs went to France. He was demobilised in February 1919.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: When first-class cricket resumed in 1919, Surrey awarded Hobbs a five-year contract worth £400 a year (£24,185 in 2021 money). During the season, he began to open the batting with Andy Sandham, who succeeded to Hayward's position as Hobbs' partner; in the following years, the pair established an effective partnership. In total, they shared 66 century opening partnerships and averaged over 50 for the first wicket. Like Hobbs' other successful partnerships, this one was based on quick running. Sandham, even when successful, was often overshadowed by his partner; on one occasion, Sandham scored a century but the headlines were reserved for Hobbs' duck. Sandham usually played the subordinate role and Hobbs took most of the bowling.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs made a good start to the 1919 season and, despite a brief spell of failure through over-aggression, batted consistently. He scored a double century for Surrey against a touring Australian Imperial Forces cricket team and centuries in each of the three Gentlemen v Players matches—the only player ever to do so in one season. His rescheduled benefit match raised £1,670 (£91,750 in 2021 terms), money he used to open a sports shop in London. The shop was successful, and he ran it until just before his death. The additional income gave him considerable financial independence. In total that year, Hobbs scored 2,594 runs in first-class matches, more than anyone else, at an average of 60.32. After a winter working in his shop, his good form continued into 1920. Four of his eleven first-class centuries came in consecutive innings in June, and he totalled 2,827 runs at 58.89. He also took five wickets for 21 runs against Warwickshire, and his 17 wickets at an average of 11.82 placed him at the top of the Surrey bowling averages.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs toured Australia with the MCC during the 1920–21 season, under the captaincy of J. W. H. T. Douglas, when Australia won every match of the five-Test series. He was one of the few English successes. He scored two centuries in the opening three first-class games, and in the first Test top-scored in both England innings with 49 and 59. In the second Test, he scored 122 on a difficult pitch which had been affected by rain. "Wisden" commented that this was "from the English point of view, the finest innings of the tour". He also scored a century in defeat in the third Test, hitting 123 in the final innings as England failed to score 489 to win the game. He did not pass 50 again in the series; after a failure on the fourth Test, he tore a thigh muscle batting in a game before the final Test. Persuaded by Douglas to play anyway, he scored 40 and 34 but struggled to field effectively. One unsuccessful attempt to chase the ball caused some of the crowd to jeer him, which led to controversy when two amateur members of the team, Percy Fender and Rockley Wilson, wrote scathingly about the incident. Hobbs scored a total of 924 first-class runs on the tour, at an average of 51.33; in Test matches, he scored 505 runs at 50.50. Although he and Rhodes resumed their opening partnership, apart from in the first Test, when C. A. G. Russell partnered Hobbs, they could not replicate their former successes, and shared only one stand worth more than fifty.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs played just five first-class matches in 1921, when Australia toured England. In his opening first-class game, he played against the touring team, but tore the same thigh muscle injured in Australia. He missed the opening two Tests, but once recovered, scored a century for Surrey; as England trailed 2–0 in the five-Test series, the selectors chose him for the third Test. In the days approaching the match, played in Leeds, he suffered from increasing stomach pain but reluctantly played. On the first day of the match, he had to leave the field, and after a day of rest the pain worsened. He consulted Sir Berkley Moynihan, a prominent surgeon based in Leeds, who diagnosed acute appendicitis and operated the same day. In the opinion of the surgeon, Hobbs would not have lived another five hours without surgery. He missed the rest of the season.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs returned to cricket in 1922 and batted effectively throughout the first months of the season, scoring 10 first-class centuries in total. One of the centuries came in the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's, in which he captained the Players team for the first time. Towards the end of the season, his form faded owing to the lingering effects of his illness and operation the previous year. "Wisden" observed that he frequently tired during longer innings and often tried to get out soon after reaching three figures; this habit of giving up his innings continued throughout the remainder of his career. The season also marked a turning point in his batting approach where he preferred to score more slowly and take fewer risks, in contrast to his adventurous pre-war tactics. Second in the national batting averages for 1922, he scored 2,552 runs at an average of 62.24, but declined an invitation to tour South Africa that winter with the MCC. Less successful during the wet 1923 season, Hobbs failed on many occasions and was unsuccessful in both Gentlemenv Players games. He was still struggling with the after-effects of his operation and "Wisden" noticed he once more tried to score too quickly early in an innings. However, against Somerset, he scored the 100th century of his first-class career, the third man to reach the landmark after W. G. Grace and Hayward. Overall in the season, he scored 2,087 runs at 37.95.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs signed a new contract worth £440 (£28,463 in 2021 terms) a season before the 1924 season. His form recovered to the extent that his biographer, John Arlott, described it as the beginning of "his quite phenomenal second lease of cricketing life". Batting conditions were good throughout the summer and Hobbs' opening partnership with Sandham for Surrey began to approach its peak of effectiveness. Hobbs also established an opening partnership with Yorkshire's Herbert Sutcliffe; the pair had opened together briefly in previous seasons and were chosen to open in a Test trial early in 1924, beginning a six-year Test association. They were often successful in difficult batting conditions; Hobbs, generally the dominant partner, usually faced more of the bowling. By the time of his retirement, they had opened the batting 38 times in Tests, shared 15 century opening partnerships, and added 3,249 runs together; their average partnership was 87.81, the highest in all Tests for a pair of opening batsmen as of 2016. In all first-class matches, they had added 100 for the first wicket 26 times and had an average partnership of over 77. As with Hobbs' other partnerships, they ran well between the wickets, and established a particular reputation for reliability; according to McKinstry, they became an "English institution". The cricket writer Gerald Howat suggests that Hobbs and Sutcliffe' became almost a synonym for English stability."


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Following their success in the 1924 trial match, Hobbs and Sutcliffe were selected for the England team to play the first Test against South Africa. When England batted first, the pair added 136 for the first wicket; Hobbs, playing a Test innings in England for the first time since 1912, scored 76. England won the match by a large margin. In the second Test, Hobbs and Sutcliffe opened with 268 runs for the first wicket; Hobbs scored 211, his highest Test score. At the time, the innings was the highest played at Lord's in a Test and equalled the highest in a Test match in England. England scored 531 for the loss of two wickets and won the match by an innings. Having initially declined an invitation to tour Australia with the MCC in the coming winter, Hobbs was left out of the team for the fourth Test. After the MCC accepted his request to allow his wife Ada to accompany him—the wives of professionals were not usually permitted to tour—he changed his mind, and was added to the England team for the fifth Test. In the series, he scored 355 runs at an average of 71.00, while in all first-class matches he totalled 2,094 runs at 58.16. He finished second in the national averages, and the cricket press noted that, although Hobbs scored more slowly and in less spectacular fashion than previously, he batted in a safer, secure style which was more successful in terms of run-scoring.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: The MCC team which toured Australia under the captaincy of Arthur Gilligan in 1924–25 lost the Test series 4–1, but critics thought the winning margin flattered the host country. Between them in the Test matches, Hobbs and Sutcliffe scored seven centuries and shared four opening partnerships which passed 100 runs. Hobbs began the tour well, and scored consistently in the matches before the Tests. In the first Test, in reply to Australia's first innings of 450, Hobbs and Sutcliffe opened with 157 runs. Hobbs went on to his seventh century against Australia, beating the previous record number in England-Australia Tests by Victor Trumper. Australia eventually set England a target of 605 runs. Hobbs and Sutcliffe shared their second century opening partnership of the game, but England lost by 193 runs. During the match, Hobbs became the leading run-scorer in Test cricket, passing the previous record of 3,412 runs set by Clem Hill in 1912. In the second Test, Australia scored 600 during the opening two days. In reply, Hobbs and Sutcliffe batted throughout the third day without being separated, scoring 283. They concentrated on defence but both men reached centuries, and the press praised their achievements. Even so, Australia won the game by 81 runs, and in the aftermath of the defeat, Cecil Parkin, a former Test bowler and vocal critic of Gilligan's captaincy, wrote a newspaper article suggesting that Hobbs should assume the leadership of the side. This suggestion provoked a reaction from Lord Hawke—"Pray God, no professional will ever captain England"—and subsequent press debate over the idea of Hobbs as captain. In reality, Hobbs had no desire to captain England.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Australia once more batted first in the third Test, scoring 489. For tactical reasons, Hobbs did not open the batting but scored 119 and shared another century partnership with Sutcliffe. Wet weather altered the course of the match and, despite an opening partnership of 63 between Hobbs and Sutcliffe, Australia won by 11 runs. The opening batsmen shared their fourth century partnership of the series in the fourth Test as England won by an innings, but Australia won the final match to win the series 4–1 and in a heavy defeat, Hobbs failed in both innings. In the series, he scored 573 runs at an average of 63.66, and made two half-centuries in addition to his three hundreds. Critics in Australia and England once more recognised him as the leading batsman in the world. Hobbs and Sutcliffe far outscored the remaining MCC batsmen and "Wisden" judged that with better support from other batsmen they could have won the series. In all games, Hobbs scored 865 first-class runs at 54.06.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs was particularly successful in 1925. Early in the season a string of centuries, including a run of four in consecutive innings, made him the first batman to reach 1,000 runs that season and brought him close to Grace's record of 126 first-class hundreds. He scored the 125th century of his career against Kent on 20 July, but amid intense press and public interest, Hobbs lost form through a combination of anxiety and fatigue. He continued to score well, but could not reach three figures in an innings—after one innings of 54, a newspaper headline proclaimed that "Hobbs Fails Again". It was not until 15 August, against Somerset, that Hobbs scored 101 to reach the landmark, an achievement praised and feted throughout the country over the following weeks. On the final day of the match, Hobbs scored another century to become the outright record holder. He ended his season with an innings of 266 in a Gentlemen v Players match at the Scarborough Festival, his highest to date and the best score made in the Gentlemen v Players series, and 104 for the Rest of England against Yorkshire, the County Champions. In total, he scored 16 centuries—setting a record for most centuries in a season—and totalled 3,024 runs at an average of 70.32 to top the national averages for the first time. Following his successful season, Hobbs was in great demand. He attended several functions in his honour but rejected offers to appear on stage, in film and to stand as a Liberal parliamentary candidate.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs was given a third benefit by Surrey in 1926, which raised £2670 (£173,651 in 2021 terms). Further recognition came when he and Rhodes joined the England selection committee for the Ashes series to be played that summer; for professional cricketers to serve as England selectors was unprecedented. Hobbs began the season well, and after the first Test, which was badly affected by rain, he remained in form by scoring 261 against Oxford University, sharing an opening partnership of 428 with Sandham; this remained a Surrey first wicket record as of 2016. In the drawn second Test, he and Sutcliffe shared an opening stand of 182. Hobbs scored 119 but was criticised for slowing down later in his innings, leading to accusations that he was more concerned with reaching three figures than batting for the team. The third Test was also drawn. England followed on in the face of a large Australian total, but Hobbs and Sutcliffe opened the second innings with a partnership of 156 and Hobbs scored 88 as the game was saved. During the fourth Test, he temporarily assumed the captaincy when Arthur Carr withdrew from the match owing to illness; Hobbs became the first professional to captain England at home. The selectors and players on both teams believed Hobbs performed well tactically. He scored 74 in England's innings, but heavy rain ensured a fourth successive draw.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: As everything depended on the final game, the Imperial Cricket Conference agreed that the match be played to a finish. Carr was replaced as captain by Percy Chapman, a decision which proved controversial in the press; Rhodes was also recalled to the team, aged 48. Amid huge public interest, the match was evenly balanced at the end of the second day when England began their second innings. Overnight rain seriously damaged the pitch before the third morning and few critics—including members of the home team—expected England to score many runs. But Hobbs and Sutcliffe, who had scored 49 on the second evening, began to bat confidently before the effects of a hot sun drying a damp pitch made batting even more hazardous. Concentrating on defence, but scoring whenever possible, the pair added 172 in total. Immediately after reaching 100, Hobbs was out and received a prolonged ovation from the crowd. Many critics believed that, given the conditions, match situation and pressure, this was his greatest innings. England built up a large lead and bowled Australia out to win the Ashes. Late in the season, Hobbs made the highest score of his career, 316 not out for Surrey against Middlesex at Lord's, establishing a record individual innings for Lord's which survived until 1990. In total, Hobbs scored 2,949 runs at 77.60, including 12 centuries, to be placed first in the national batting averages.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs missed a large part of the 1927 season with a combination of illness and injury. In between his absences, he performed well, although he was left out of the Gentlemen v Players match. He scored 1,641 runs at 52.93, including seven centuries. He began the 1928 season with four centuries in the first month, but another leg injury kept him out of cricket for six weeks. When he recovered, he was selected in the last two of the three Tests against the West Indies, playing their first Test series. In his first game, he and Sutcliffe shared a century partnership; in the third, Hobbs scored 159, having opened with a 155-run partnership with Sutcliffe. England won the series 3–0. Hobbs maintained his batting form until the end of the season; he finished second in the batting averages, scoring 2,542 runs at an average of 82.00 and hitting 12 centuries. Critics believed he remained unsurpassed among English batsmen.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs toured Australia for a final time as a player in 1928–29 as part of a strong MCC team, and despite substantial scores in early games, did not bat well. He made little contribution to England's victories in the first two Tests, and some critics noticed a decline in his batting, a judgement reinforced when he was out to a poorly-chosen shot in the first innings of the third Test for 20. Australia were able to build up a substantial lead, and overnight rain before the sixth day of the match made them likely winners. England needed 332 to win, but on a pitch growing more difficult as it dried, a total of 100 was considered unlikely. Hobbs and Sutcliffe survived to add 105 for the first wicket; observers praised their technique against the turning ball, although the Australian bowlers were criticised for ineffective tactics. Hobbs was out for 49; at his suggestion, Douglas Jardine came in to bat next, and England reached the end of the day having lost just one wicket for a score of 199. Next day, the team won the game to take a 3–0 lead in the series with two to play and ensure they retained the Ashes. In the fourth Test, Hobbs scored 74 and shared a partnership of 143 with Sutcliffe as England won by 12 runs; in the final game, won by Australia, he scored 142 on the first day, his final Test century and 12th against Australia. Scoring his hundred at the age of 46 years 82 days, he remained as of 2016 the oldest player to score a Test century. In first-class games on the tour, Hobbs scored 962 runs at 56.58. and 451 runs at 50.11 in the Tests.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs missed more cricket with injuries and illnesses in 1929; between 1926 and 1930, he missed more than a third of Surrey's matches. However, he scored heavily and compiled 2,263 runs at an average of 66.55 to lead the first-class averages. Unfit for the first two Tests against South Africa, he chose to miss the next two, and played in the final game, scoring 10 and 52. Critics observed a general slowing in Hobbs' scoring throughout the season, and he scored more often in singles than in his earlier years.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs began 1930 in good form, and, with Rhodes, was added to the selection panel again for the Ashes series that season. In the first Test, Hobbs scored 78 and 74; he top-scored in both innings, but failed in the next two Tests. Before the third and fourth Tests, feeling tired and concerned by his form, he offered to stand down but the other selectors declined his suggestion. When he batted in the fourth Test, he shared an opening partnership of 108 with Sutcliffe, their 11th century stand against Australia. After two hours batting, he was out for 31. With the series level at 1–1, the final Test was to be played to a finish, but before it began, Hobbs announced that it would be his last. Shortly after making the decision, he returned to form, scoring a century and passing, in his next game, W. G. Grace's record career-aggregate of 54,896 first-class runs. Before the deciding Test, the selectors sacked Percy Chapman as captain. The press speculated that Hobbs would replace him, but Bob Wyatt was chosen; Hobbs may have turned down an offer of the captaincy at the meeting of selectors. In the match, Hobbs scored 47 in the first innings. When he came out to bat in the second, in the face of a large Australian first-innings lead, Hobbs was given an ovation by the crowd and the Australian fielders gave him three cheers. Hobbs was moved by his reception but scored only nine runs before he was dismissed, and Australia won the match and series. In his final series, he scored 301 runs at 33.44. In 61 Tests, he had scored 5,410 runs at an average of 56.94. He retired as the leading run-scorer in Test matches, a record he held until it was passed by Wally Hammond in 1937. Maintaining his form for the rest of the season, Hobbs scored 2,103 first-class runs in 1930 at 51.29.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: During the winter of 1930–31, Hobbs and Sutcliffe joined a private team run by the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram which toured India and Ceylon. Hobbs was very popular with the crowds, and scored 593 runs. These runs, and in particular the two centuries he scored, were to prove controversial. Hobbs never believed that the matches were, or should have been, of first-class status, but statisticians later judged them to be first-class. "Wisden" never recognised the centuries and so records his century total as 197. Other authorities give 199 centuries. Despite using a more limited batting technique, Hobbs remained successful in 1931. He played several representative matches and took part in the 150th century opening partnership of his career. In total, he scored 2,418 first-class runs in the season at 56.23. In 1932, despite missing several matches owing to injuries and fatigue, he scored 1,764 runs at 56.90, including centuries in each innings against Essex. According to Mason, this latter performance prompted Douglas Jardine to coin the nickname "The Master" for Hobbs. Hobbs scored 161 not out for the Players against the Gentlemen, his 16th century in the fixture, to pass the record total of WG Grace for the Gentlemen.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs was partially involved in the Bodyline controversy in Australia in 1932–33. Late in the 1932 season, Bill Bowes consistently bowled short-pitched deliveries against him in a match between Surrey and Yorkshire. Bowes was criticised in the press and particularly by Pelham Warner, who was to manage the MCC team in Australia. Hobbs accompanied the team to Australia as a journalist, writing for the "News Chronicle" and "The Star", accompanied by his ghostwriter Jack Ingham. During the tour, Hobbs neither condemned Bodyline nor fully described the English tactics. Other journalists admired Hobbs but dismissed his writing as "bland". When he returned to England, Hobbs openly criticised the English tactics in newspaper columns and in a book he wrote about the tour. In 1933, playing less frequently, he scored 1,105 runs at 61.38, aged 50. After missing the first games with illness, he scored 221 against the touring West Indian team, to the acclaim of the press. He did not play every game, and the Surrey committee allowed him to choose which matches to play. More centuries followed later that season, which took him to 196 in his career, fuelling anticipation that he would reach 200 centuries. That winter he accompanied the MCC team in India as a journalist. Before the next season, Surrey constructed a new entrance to the Oval which was named after Hobbs. In 1934, he scored 624 runs at 36.70. After a solid start, he scored his final first-class century against Lancashire. After this he played irregularly, and his batting began to appear uncomfortable. Hobbs realised his career was over: in February 1935, he announced his retirement. There were many tributes and a public dinner was held in his honour which was attended by many leading figures in cricket. In all first-class cricket, Hobbs scored 61,760 runs at an average of 50.70 according to ESPNcricinfo. Later in 1935, Hobbs was made an honorary life member of Surrey.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: For much of Hobbs' career, critics judged him to be the best batsman in the world. E. W. Swanton described him in 1963 as "a supreme master of his craft, and the undisputed head of his profession". Neville Cardus said that Hobbs was the first batsman to develop a technique to succeed consistently against googly bowlers, and that he mastered all types of bowling, all over the world and in a variety of conditions. Other critics have suggested that Hobbs moved the focus of batting from aesthetic off side shots to leg side play more suited to swing and googly bowling. Swanton wrote that Hobbs combined classical play with effective defence—including protecting the wickets using his pads—against the ball unexpectedly moving towards the stumps. His pad-play was controversial: it removed any possibility of dismissal but was regarded by some cricket authorities as negative and unsporting.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Many of his English contemporaries rated Hobbs superior to Donald Bradman, often regarded as the greatest batsman in the history of cricket, on difficult pitches. In difficult batting conditions Hobbs batted with great success, and several of his most highly regarded innings came in such circumstances. Murphy suggests: "Before Bradman, he was the most consistent run-getter of all time, yet no one worried less about the sheer slog of carving out big scores." Hobbs frequently was out deliberately soon after reaching a century—roughly a quarter of his centuries were scores less than 110—and was not particularly interested in most statistics. An article in "Wisden" in 2000 stated: "He was never as dominant as Bradman; he never wanted to be. But his contemporaries were in awe of his ability to play supremely and at whim, whatever the conditions."


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs' technique was based on strong forearms and good foot movement. R. C. Robertson-Glasgow suggested that "his footwork was, as near as is humanly possible, perfect. In every stroke, he moved into line with the ball with so little effort that he could bat for hours without over-taxing energy of mind or body." He played every type of shot—he did not have a "signature" shot like other batsmen, but selected his strokes effectively; according to Alec Kennedy, who bowled to Hobbs, it seemed that he could predict what the bowler would do. In contrast to many leading batsmen from his time, Hobbs preferred to play off the back foot as he believed it gave him more time to see the ball and adapt his shot. Capable of playing all the strokes, he hit the ball precisely between fielders and sometimes delayed his shot to make the ball travel more slowly and allow more time to run; he also ran well between the wickets. He liked to score his first run quickly when he came into bat, and he often looked to score quickly at the start of an innings, before the bowlers had settled; on occasion, Hobbs targeted the main bowling threats from the opposition in an attempt to neutralise them. Early in his career, mainly before the First World War, Hobbs was an aggressive, fast-scoring batsman who played many shots. After the war, he was more circumspect and adapted his technique to account for both his increased age, and the increased pressure and expectation from the public and teammates. He concentrated to a greater extent on batting for longer periods; many critics, including Hobbs himself, recognised the change and suggested that he was a better batsman before 1914. However, commentators also noted that he displayed greater certainty and control in this later period; Cardus wrote that "he scored his centuries effortlessly now; we hardly noted the making of them." This was the period in which he became known as "The Master", and he was more consistent than before the war. This was the time when the public regarded him with the most respect and affection; 98 of his centuries and 26,411 of his runs (at an average of 58.62) in first-class cricket were scored after he reached the age of 40.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs was an occasional medium-paced bowler who bowled a good length and made the ball swing. Some critics judged him to be a potentially good bowler, but both Surrey and England were reluctant for him to bowl regularly, fearing it would affect his batting. As a fielder, Hobbs improved greatly from his early days. He fielded in the covers and was expert in cutting off potential runs and returning the ball quickly to the wicket-keeper. Contemporaries believed him to be one of the best cover fielders there had been, and remarked on his powers of anticipation in getting to the ball. They also noted he sometimes deceived batsmen with his casual attitude and occasional deliberate mis-fields; these would be followed by very sharp fielding which often produced a run out.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Although a professional—captains at the time were almost exclusively amateurs—the respect in which Hobbs was held meant that he was accepted as a captain. Many, but not all, critics considered him a competent tactician and leader. He regularly led the Players team against the Gentlemen and sometimes at Surrey in the absence of Percy Fender, but he was a reluctant captain. He disliked the responsibility and decision-making of leadership, and rarely even offered tactical advice.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs was twice selected as "Wisden's" Cricketer of the Year, in 1909 and 1926; only he and Pelham Warner have received this award twice. In 1963, Neville Cardus chose him as one of the best six cricketers of the previous 100 years, to mark "Wisden's" centenary. More recently, Hobbs was selected by a panel of experts in 2000 as one of five "Wisden" cricketers of the 20th century. In 2009, he was selected by cricket historians and writers as a member of England's all-time best team, and included in a similar team to represent the best players worldwide in the history of cricket. Hobbs' Test batting average of 56.94 remained as of 2016 the sixth best among batsmen to have passed 5,000 runs, despite a rise in the number of batsmen who average more than 50 since 2000. Among openers who have scored 5,000 Test runs, he has the third best average behind Sutcliffe and Len Hutton. He was comfortably the leading Test run-scorer during his career, and had the highest number of Test runs at the time of his retirement. Between 1910 and 1929, he averaged 65.55 in Test cricket.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Gideon Haigh suggests that Hobbs was a "spontaneous and original", trend-setting batsman who was not afraid to depart from orthodoxy. Gerald Howat notes that, aside from his batting achievements, "Hobbs's biographers and obituarists could strike no discordant note. He was a man of moral probity, religious conviction, and personal commitment. And he was humble enough to see himself as an ordinary person blessed with one extraordinary talent, which he put into its proper perspective. It was an attitude of mind which tempered the sternness of his approach with an engaging humour and a delight in playing practical jokes." Among his contemporaries, Hobbs was regarded as modest and kind, and never criticised other players. He avoided confrontation, although he was "quietly determined", according to "Wisden", and tried to avoid publicity. According to Fender, Hobbs "gave stature" to the profession of cricket. Modern critics have expressed some reservations: some have pointed out that his batting average, although high, has been surpassed by others, and that among his many centuries, few were as large as other players managed. However, others contend that his impact on the game, his achievement in showing that professionals could bat as freely and stylishly as amateurs, and his kindness place him among the top cricketers of all time. "Wisden" described him in 2000: "More than anyone else, he lifted the status and dignity of the English professional cricketer." In summing up his place in history, it said: "He was not an artist, like some of his predecessors, nor yet a scientist, like some of the moderns; he was perhaps the supreme craftsman."


title: Jack Hobbs

text: In 1900, Hobbs met Ada Ellen Gates, a cobbler's daughter, at an evening church service held in St Matthew's, Cambridge. The progress of their relationship was slowed by Hobbs' shyness and devotion to cricket, but the pair eventually married on 26 September 1906 at the church in which they met. They planned to keep the event quiet, but it was reported in the press and the couple received gifts and messages from Hobbs' Surrey team-mates. Hobbs so disliked being separated from his wife during cricket tours that in later years she often accompanied the team overseas. They had four children: Jack, born in 1907, Leonard in 1909, Vera in 1913 and Ivor in 1914.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Hobbs and his wife lived in rented property for the first years of their marriage. His earnings placed them roughly in the bracket of lower middle class according to McKinstry: although more prosperous than he had been during his childhood, the family were not initially financially comfortable. Hobbs' wages increased with his reputation so that by 1913, he was earning £375 (£46,040 in 2021 terms) each year, placing his family within the bracket of the London middle class. After several years of moving from one property to another, he was able to buy his own house in 1913, in Clapham Common, a prosperous area of London. By the middle of the 1920s, cricket in England was extremely popular and the players were famous. Hobbs was the biggest attraction to the sport, and a combination of his cricket earnings (estimated to be around £780 [£50,457 in 2021 terms] each year), the income from his business, product endorsement—he was one of the first cricketers to benefit from lending his name to commercial products—and ghostwritten books and articles made him relatively wealthy. According to McKinstry, his annual earnings probably reached £1,500 (£97,032 in 2021 terms) a year by 1925, more than a family doctor at the time. Consequently, in 1928, the family moved to a large house in private grounds, and Hobbs was able to send his children to private schools. He had greater financial independence than most contemporary cricketers, but he was always first concerned to give his family the security lacking from his childhood.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: Following his retirement from cricket in 1934, Hobbs continued to work as a journalist, first with Jack Ingham then with Jimmy Bolton as his ghostwriters. He accompanied the MCC team to Australia in 1936–37 and published four books which sold well in the 1930s. In addition, he produced two ghostwritten autobiographies, but generally avoided self-publicity or controversy. He continued to work at his sports shop and he and Ada moved home several times. By the mid-1930s, his wife was becoming mentally and physically frail. Hobbs supported several charities in his spare time and continued to play cricket at club and charity level.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: During the Second World War, Hobbs served in the Home Guard at New Malden. In 1946, Hobbs became the first professional to be elected to the Surrey committee. The same year, he and his wife moved to Hove, following several years of health concerns and worries over his business and children. Ada's health continued to deteriorate, and the couple spent some time in South Africa in an attempt to aid her recuperation.


title: Jack Hobbs

text: In 1953, Hobbs was knighted, the first professional cricketer to be so honoured. He was reluctant to accept it and only did so when convinced that it was an honour to all professional cricketers, not just himself. In the same year, John Arlott formed the "Master's Club", a group of Hobbs' admirers who met regularly to celebrate him. Hobbs remained active into the 1960s, including working in his shop. By the late 1950s, Ada was wheelchair-bound, and Hobbs spent most of his time caring for her. She died in March 1963. Hobbs' own health began to fail shortly afterwards, and he died on 21 December 1963 at the age of 81. He left £19,445 (£433,263 in 2021 terms) in his will and was buried in Hove Cemetery. A memorial service was held at Southwark Cathedral in February 1964.


title: Honda RC213V

text: The Honda RC213V is a Japanese motorcycle developed for road racing by Honda Racing Corporation to compete in the MotoGP series from the 2012 season and onwards. Rules for 2012 allowed motorcycles up to in capacity, with a limit of 4 cylinders and a maximum 81mm cylinder bore.


title: Honda RC213V

text: A limited-production run of a hand-built, road-going version designated RC213V-S was introduced in 2015 as a MotoGP replica. Honda merchandised a Sports Kit upgrade package to allow owners to improve the specification for non-road use.


title: Honda RC213V

text: Compared to the RC212V, the most significant new design features of the RC213V were its 1000cc displacement and 90° cylinder angle. The widening of the angle from 75.5° to 90° made it possible to increase the displacement to 1000cc without raising the center of gravity. It also resulted in a perfect primary balance, so a balance shaft wasn't necessary, and weight was saved. Advances in electronics also made it possible to control handling without a reverse-rotating crank. Because a forward-rotating crank doesn't need an idle gear, even more weight was saved.


title: Honda RC213V

text: The 90° angle also gave Honda more options to experiment with firing order, and in 2012 Honda wanted a firing order that would maximize horsepower. The RC213V's original firing order was described as “screamer mode," which it may have been, compared to its predecessors, but the actual specifications weren't revealed. Possibly they were the 180°-270°-180°-90° near-screamer intervals of Honda's V4, 180°-crank, VFR, or the 90°-270°-90°-270° "droner" intervals of Honda's 360°-crank superbike racers, the RC30 and RC45.


title: Honda RC213V

text: For the 2012 season, Honda fielded two factory RC213Vs, ridden by Repsol Honda teammates Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa; a third and fourth were used by Álvaro Bautista on the Gresini Racing team, and Stefan Bradl on the LCR team. Jonathan Rea also competed in two Grands Prix as a replacement rider for Casey Stoner, following his crash at Indianapolis. At the first pre-season test in late 2011, Pedrosa and Stoner were at the top of the timesheets.


title: Honda RC213V

text: In 2013, the reigning Moto2 champion Marc Márquez replaced retired Casey Stoner on the Repsol Honda team, and won the riders championship on the RC213V. Dani Pedrosa came third in the riders' championship, and the RC213V won its second constructors' championship in its second year on track.


title: Honda RC213V

text: In 2014, at the first pre-season test at Sepang, the RC213V continued to top the time sheets, with its riders coming in 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th on the first day of the Sepang Test, and 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 9th on the second day.


title: Honda RC213V

text: After Yamaha won the constructors' championship in 2015, and the rules began to prohibit sophisticated electronics in 2016, Honda went back to a heavier, reverse-rotating crankshaft as the best way to improve handling, By 2019 all the constructors would reach the same conclusion. Honda also went back to a "big bang" firing order, something they knew a lot about. It was Honda who discovered in 1992 that a firing order with even intervals was not conducive to good traction. In 2017, specifications for the RC213V indicated a 180° crankshaft and “four simultaneous power strokes,” implying that the new firing intervals might have been 90°-90°-90°-450°, but the exact specifications were not revealed.


title: Honda RC213V

text: For the 2019 Grand Prix Season, three specifications of the RC213V were tested by Marquez and the newly signed rider, Jorge Lorenzo. The tests were conducted over two days at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo near Valencia, Spain. On the first day, the times were recorded as 1:31.718 for Marquez and 1:32.959 for Lorenzo. On the second day. they were 1:30.911 and 1:31.584, respectively. The chosen specifications were not revealed, but they must have been good ones, as Marquez and Honda won the 2019 riders' and constructors' championships.


title: Honda RC213V

text: Whatever Honda's changes were in the following three years, they were not for the better. After Honda won the constructors' championship in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 with the RC213V, Ducati won in 2020, 2021, and 2022 with the Desmosedici. In those three years Honda could manage only 5th, 4th, and 6th in the constructors' standings.


title: Honda RC213V

text: When asked about the changes for 2022, project manager Takeo Yokoyama explained, “In the past two years, we had problems with the grip on the rear wheel...We decided to start from scratch with the engine. We built the new bike around the new engine." Yokoyama didn't reveal any details, but it appears the engine was tilted backwards. According to one report, everything but the V4 configuration and the firing order was changed. Nevertheless, Ducati continued to dominate, and Honda fell even farther behind. Marquez had several crashes and was sidelined for much of the season, though the crashes were not necessarily the fault of the RC213V. However, Honda's Pol Espargaro claimed that the 2022 variant had "no strong points," and test-rider Stefan Bradl claimed it had "unacceptable" heat problems.


title: Honda RC213V

text: On 7 November 2013 HRC revealed the RCV1000R, a simplified "production racer" that non-MSMA teams Gresini Racing, AB Motoracing and the Aspar Team raced in . The RCV1000R lacks the seamless shift gearbox and the pneumatic operated valves of the RC213V and uses the official Dorna-issued ECU software.


title: Honda RC213V

text: For the new RC213V-RS replaced the RCV1000R, adopting the pneumatic operated valves but still lacking the seamless shift gearbox.


title: Honda RC213V

text: On 11 June 2015, Honda released the limited-run RC213V-S. The motorcycle is a street-legal MotoGP replica. Honda claims the motorcycle shares 80% of its parts with the MotoGP version. Differences include steel springs instead of pneumatic springs, stainless steel brakes instead of carbon brakes, 6-speed sequential manual instead of seamless shift, 17" Marchesini wheels instead of 16.5", and a larger steering angle. European models rev to 12,000rpm with an optional power kit increasing it to 14,000. US models are limited to 9,400rpm due to sound noise laws. The power kit is not available for US models.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Michael Delfino is a fictional character on the ABC television series "Desperate Housewives". The character was played by actor James Denton from the show's inception, until the eighth and final season of the show.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Michael "Mike" Delfino was born in 1967 as the second child of Adele and Nick Delfino. He was engaged to Deirdre Taylor. He was very popular in High School until his father’s trial for the murder of his co-worker. Since then, his maternal grandfather took care of him and Adele. Unfortunately, he fell into drug addiction and Mike, defending a woman against a policeman, killed him in self-defense. In 1987 he was sentenced to 5 and a half years in prison in Kansas. In September 1988, his girlfriend Deirdre visited him in prison and they conceived a son during the meeting. Deirdre later lied to him that she carried out the abortion and then disappeared from his life. In 1992, he moved to Los Angeles and got married. The woman died in 2003. They had no children but left him a dog named Bongo. He came to Fairview because there were nightmares. He was hired by Deirdre's father as a private investigator to find out what happened with Deirdre.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Mike Delfino lives at 4356 Wisteria Lane, renting the Simms’s house, and poses as the friendly neighborhood plumber. He was quietly searching for his missing ex-girlfriend (Deirdre Taylor). Her father, Noah, wanted to know what had happened to her before he died. Deirdre's remains are inside Zach’s toy chest, and are buried under the family pool. After Mary Alice kills herself, Paul Young excavates the toy chest out of the pool, wraps it, and tapes it up, and drives away with it to throw it in a body of water. The toy chest later comes up and is mentioned twice more when it appears on a local News channel. Paul is shown in his living room, while Zach sleeps on the couch, and the story comes on the News, making Paul quickly turn off the tv, and storm out of the room. Zach is seen opening his eyes, and realizes something is not right. In episode 18, two detectives having discovered a woman's remains in the toy chest, question Paul about it as they have found the maker kept a list of all clients he had done work for. Zach steps in and falsely claims the chest was damaged by him and thrown away when he was a child. Zach later believes Paul has lied to him about his memories of the chest and the private investigator who tried to take Zach away when he was a young child but Paul convinces him he didn't.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Paul Young murdered Martha Huber after she admitted blackmailing his late wife. He tried framing Mike for the murder. Susan Meyer discovers that Mike had been in prison for manslaughter, and drug dealing. Devastated, she ends their relationship, disappointed that he didn't tell her the truth. However, she visited Kendra and Noah, looking for more answers. Kendra explains that Mike and Deirdre were drug addicts. Mike was defending Deirdre from an undercover policeman, and he tried stopping the policeman who had caught them together. Mike and the policeman got into a fight, and they went over a balcony. Mike survived, but the cop didn't.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Mike discovers that Paul Young was involved in Deirdre's murder. He took Paul hostage and planned to shoot him until Paul told him that he, and his late wife, Mary Alice, lived in Salt Lake City years ago. Mary Alice Young worked at a rehab center and met Deirdre. One night, wanting drugs, Deirdre tried to sell them her watch, claiming the baby needed food, but Mary Alice knew Deirdre would buy drugs, so she refused. Deirdre then offered them her baby son, Dana. Mary Alice agreed since she couldn’t conceive, and they moved to Fairview with the baby, now renamed Zach. Four years later, Deirdre found them and demanded her baby back, but they refused. Deirdre went to take Zach, but Mary Alice stabbed her in the process. They cut up her body, and put it inside Zach’s toy chest, and buried it underneath the pool they were about to have installed. Mike let Paul go, realizing Zach was his son. Meanwhile, Zach was holding Susan hostage because he had just found out Mike kidnapped Paul and intended to kill him.


title: Mike Delfino

text: When Mike got home, he and Susan fought off Zach and he fled because Zach was keeping Susan so Mike would come home and Zach intended to kill him. Susan was stunned to discover that Zach is Mike's son. Susan was wary of Zach because his behaviour towards Julie was worrying, particularly when she asked him not to see Julie as much. She encouraged Zach to go to Utah, looking for Paul and gave him money. When Mike found out, he ended their relationship.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Mike tried getting to know him, on his return from Utah, and Zach was initially interested. Paul, however, told Zach that he was getting tired of his obsession with two people who hadn't loved him enough to keep him. After that, Zach made it clear that he felt Paul was his father.


title: Mike Delfino

text: After Edie Britt set Susan's house on fire, Mike got Susan a wire to record Edie's confession. Susan moved into a caravan. Later, they made up and he planned to propose in the season finale but was run over by Orson Hodge.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Mike survived the accident but spent 6 months in the Fairview hospital. When he woke up, he was diagnosed with retrograde amnesia, causing him to forget the last 2 years. Edie Britt took advantage, telling him that Susan had treated him like dirt to make Mike fall in love with her. They had a brief relationship which she ended when he was arrested for Monique Polier's murder. Susan pursued her new boyfriend, Ian, to hire the best lawyer to get Mike out of jail. In prison, Paul tried befriending Mike so Zach would help him find Felicia Tilman (Mrs. Hubers' sister), who had accused Paul murdering her sister. Later, he visited a hypnotherapist to try to make sense of some memories. He realized Orson Hodge (who married Bree Van De Kamp) was responsible. He and Mike had a fight on the hospital roof and Orson fell off. Mike was cleared when the police found Alma and Monique's teeth and suicide note Alma wrote when she pretended to die.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Mike was saddened when Ian and Susan got engaged but discovered that Ian proposed, knowing that Mike had intended to propose the night of his accident. Mike challenged Ian at a poker game and they did a deal: if Mike won, he could tell Susan but if Ian won, he couldn't. Ian won and Mike kept his distance but Ian had to thank Mike when he rescued him from drowning. Following an argument with Ian, Mike consoled Susan and they kissed, renewing Mike's hope that they would reconcile. Despite his deal with Ian, he told Susan what happened at the poker game. Susan was furious, refusing to see either of them but eventually decided to marry Ian. With broken Heart, Mike left her a message, saying goodbye and left Wisteria Lane, unaware that Ian had ended things with Susan. Mike went camping so Susan went after him but offended by her guide's suggestion that she invited in too much drama, Susan went to find Mike alone. Back at the campground, she was reported lost, and Mike recognized Susan from the description. Susan left Mike a message, promising if they reconciled, they would be a normal couple. Mike found Susan and they went home. Exactly a year to the day after Mike's accident, they went out to dinner and on returning to Wisteria Lane, the trailer Susan decorated a year before, was waiting on her driveway. They lived the experience they were meant to have that night and Mike proposed.


title: Mike Delfino

text: They married in the woods in the middle of the night. Susan surprised him with a small wedding because she didn't want to put pressure on him for a big, expensive wedding.


title: Mike Delfino

text: In Season Four, Mike and Susan discovered that she was pregnant. Mike told Susan that he had never been happier but problems arose when Julie asked for permission to go to a party. Susan agreed but Mike said no as he'd seen some crazy parties at the house in question. Susan agreed with Mike but later told Julie she could go but asked her not to tell Mike, wanting him to feel part of the decision-making process, and Julie went. Later that night, after Mike said he had driven past the house and seen topless girls, drunken people and music blaring, Susan claimed she needed something from the store and went to get Julie. However, at the party, she was mistaken for a stripper but brought Julie and Dylan home and a friend of Julie's phoned to check she'd got home all right, alerting Mike. He told Susan that he respected her decisions about how to raise Julie but expected her to consult him on how they raised their child.


title: Mike Delfino

text: The doctor suggested Susan and Mike go for genetic counselling and Mike admitted his father, Nick, was alive and in prison for first degree murder. They visited and Susan was shocked by how cold Nick was and needing to know that Nick felt remorse for his actions, visited him alone the next day.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Nick told Susan that he regretted what his actions did to Mike as he became very unpopular, claiming that one never truly overcame that, and told Susan to watch Mike carefully.


title: Mike Delfino

text: While at Bree's house, Mike dropped a painkiller. Bree found it and wondering what it was, researched it. On discovering that it was highly addictive, she told Susan who only believed it when she found pills hidden in Mike's flashlight. She confronted him and he threw the pills down the sink, telling her that he wasn't addicted but later retrieved them. Mike's drug dealer hassled him for money so he blackmailed Adam and Orson into prescribing him more. Mike's drug dealer came to the house and Susan, unaware he was a drug dealer, tried fixing him up with Julie until Mike told her that he was a drug dealer and she threw him out. He confessed that he had bought drugs illegally from the dealer so he could keep working, worried about the cost of raising a child. Susan thought that he had stopped taking them but found pills in the car. She confronted Mike and he accidentally pushed her down the stairs. They went to the hospital — worried about the baby — but punched a hospital worker so Mike was handcuffed to a seat. Luckily she and the baby were fine and Susan's ankle was only sprained. She was prescribed painkillers and when Mike asked for one, she told him if he didn't go to rehab, she would leave him and refuse him access to the baby. Mike agreed and went for thirty days.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Mike didn't go to the first Lamaze class, as he received his 30-day chip (30 days without drugs) but was there for the second. Mike told Susan that Bree Hodge's husband, Orson, had run him over, Susan furiously told Orson to stay away from her family and told Bree what happened. Orson and Bree grew apart because of this, and Susan apologized for it. After Mike's mother visited, Mike scolded his mother for her attitude towards Susan — asking personal questions and unable to believe that Susan couldn't cook. She apologized just before Susan gave birth to their baby boy. Mike wanted to name him Maynard after his maternal grandfather (who was a father figure for him) but Susan preferred Connor. Mike convinced her to name their son Maynard James Delfino (M.J. for short), honoring both of Mike's grandparents.


title: Mike Delfino

text: As previously stated, season five takes place five years after the events of season four. In the new timeline, it is revealed that Susan is having a secret relationship with her painter/decorator Jackson Braddock. When Jackson asked why they couldn't go public, she replies, "Maybe I don’t deserve to be happy," which led to flashbacks revealing why Susan and Mike divorced: they were involved in a crash with another car. They survived but the occupants of the other car — Lila Dash and her daughter, Paige — died. Susan and Mike weren't responsible (the other car pulled out in front of them), but Susan blamed herself and Mike and the trauma took its toll on their marriage. When Mike arrives to collect their son ("M.J.") for the weekend, Susan tells Mike that she is seeing someone.


title: Mike Delfino

text: While Susan is now with Jackson, Mike started dating Katherine Mayfair, Susan's older friend. Mike and Katherine bonded over after bad dates and realize they are attracted to each other. When Susan finds out that they are dating and that Bree knew, it is clear that she still has feelings for Mike, whom she refers to as her. This bad feeling spills over into Mike and Susan's son, M.J., when he attacks Katherine (he threw chewed chewing gum on Katherine's head). It emerges that this is a result of what Susan told M.J. when she and Mike first split up; that they would get back together eventually.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Worried about her and Mike's relationship, Katherine tells him that her daughter wants her to move to Maryland, but isn't sure if she should go. Mike was non-committal but realized, thanks to Dave Williams (AKA David Dash), that he was falling in love with Katherine and left her a basket of roses with a note saying "Don't go". When Katherine found them, she was thrilled — unaware that Dave had an agenda of his own, thinking Mike was responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter. Dave planned his revenge — he, Mike and Katherine would go camping and he would shoot Katherine dead. Fortunately, Dave's wife, Edie, sent him a text, telling him to come home. Edie confronts him — during the confrontation, Edie is about to call Mike when Dave nearly strangles her. Edie rushed out and was killed after being electrocuted when she crashed her car into an electricity pole after swerving to avoid Orson. Dave later learns that he nearly killed the wrong person. Susan confessed she was driving the night that Lila and Paige died and realized he should have been targeting her. Dave decides to kill Susan and Mike's six-year-old son, M.J. Delfino, in revenge.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Mike later struggled with his feelings for Susan and Katherine, and proposes to Katherine, who gladly accepts. In the finale, Dave gives Mike a videotape which he says is rehearsal footage of their band; it is actually Dave's confession which Mike wasn't supposed to see until after M.J. is dead. Needing a videotape to use at the wedding, Katherine puts it in her camera. Katherine and Mike are waiting to fly to Vegas and Katherine takes her wallet to buy cappuccinos and knocked the camera so Mike heard Dave's voice from her purse. Watching it, he sees Dave confess to killing M.J.. Mike runs to save him, and asks a passenger to inform Katherine that he left due to an emergency. Unfortunately, it is misinterpreted. Mike phones Susan and told her that Dave is the man whose wife and daughter that died in the accident. He speaks to Dave, offering himself in Susan and M.J.'s place. Dave agrees and tells Mike to meet them at the site of the accident. Unknown to Mike, Dave plans to have Mike crash into his car and kill M.J., just as Susan did when she killed Lila and Paige. Susan manages to escape and tried to warn Mike, but he crashed into Dave's car anyway. Susan was relieved to find M.J. alive as Dave had told him to get out of the car. Susan, Mike, and M.J. share a hug, and Mike kisses Susan.


title: Mike Delfino

text: It is revealed that Mike broke up with Katherine and asked Susan to marry him, again. She accepts and they plan their wedding. Her daughter, Julie, then returns to Wisteria Lane. Though Susan is happy and in love with Mike, Katherine is devastated and jealous. Their friendship is deeply scarred by this. At the ceremony, Katherine approaches Susan and explains how she feels and asks for her to make a public apology during the ceremony or she will make a huge scene. Susan then locks Katherine in a closet, she breaks out and a scene ensues after Mike and Susan are wed. Susan then apologizes publicly. However, Katherine tells her it doesn't matter because as of this moment, they are at war and she begins to plot revenge. When Katherine tells M.J. how Susan stole Mike away and takes the child from school, Mike verbally blasts her, saying he never loved Katherine and was thinking of Susan the whole time they were together. When a hurt Katherine says it'd be less painful for Mike to stab her with a knife, he retorts that he doesn't care enough about Katherine to kill her. After he leaves, Katherine calls 911 to say she's losing blood and then stabs herself. Katherine tells the police that Mike stabbed her and he's arrested. Trying to help him, Susan calls on Katherine's daughter Dylan, who's believed Katherine's tales that she's married to Mike. After talking to Mike in jail, Dylan realizes her mother has been lying and confronts her, causing Katherine to have a full breakdown that presumably exonerates Mike. Mike is currently having financial problems, but while he refuses any help coming from Susan, he takes a loan from Carlos. Susan eventually learns of their financial ruin and, after going over their finances she and Mike realize they need to cut back. This includes them moving to an apartment across town and, renting out their home. Though Mike knows it will help them get back on their feet, Susan becomes very angry with him as she is forced to leave the house where she raised her children. Though they make up and leave Wisteria Lane, they quickly find a renter for their house. The renter is an old resident of Wisteria Lane, Paul Young.


title: Mike Delfino

text: When Susan tells Mike about her lingerie job on the Internet and Paul Young's plan to buy their house, Mike decides to take an oil rig job in Alaska in order to earn more money. He has also been communicating with Felicia Tilman. When Susan develops kidney problems Mike surprises her at the hospital. They both fear the prospect of Susan succumbing to her disease and so they decide to have an early anniversary which turns into a sham. After everything backfires Mike admits he's not ready to lose Susan and tells her that she'll find a kidney donor. After Paul recovers from the gunshot wound he asks for Mike's help in finding Zach. Mike rejects but later changes his mind when he realizes that Zach is on drugs. Both Mike and Paul visit Zach and ask him to go to rehab. When Susan gets a kidney, courtesy of Beth, they both cannot wait for their sex drought to end with Susan dreaming of having sex but cannot recall her male counterpart.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Making the fatal mistake of crossing Donny, an unruly and vengeful loan shark/extortionist who harasses Renee, Mike is killed in a drive-by shooting by Donny himself in front of his home on Wisteria Lane, just seconds after expressing his love toward Susan. He pushes Susan down to the ground in order to save her while he is shot in the chest. He is then remembered by the housewives at his funeral. The fate of Mike's killer is never shown afterwards, but Bree is later told that an arrest had been made. When Susan was cleaning out Mike's closet, she finds papers indicating that Mike was writing checks to a woman. Susan visits the address she finds in Mike's things and discovers that Mike had a sister, Laura, whom he only learned about eight years before. Mike's mother did not want to be "inconvenienced" by their special needs child. In the final moments of the series, as Susan leaves Wisteria Lane, Mike is among the spirits watching her go.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Marc Cherry observed that the mystery surrounding Mike made him alluring and initially wanted to cast an Italian actor to portray him. Cherry settled with James Denton because he found him wholesome: "We think he's a good guy, and we want him to be a good guy, but he's not acting like a good guy."


title: Mike Delfino

text: Mike is introduced as the new neighbor on Wisteria Lane with a mysterious past. Denton explains, "He's on a very personal mission. He's not a cop or a private eye. Mike is there because somebody in his past has done him wrong."


title: Mike Delfino

text: In 2005, Denton stated that he knew his importance to the series was tied to Teri Hatcher and that there was no guarantee he would kept onboard. Denton furthered, “In a perfect world. I’ll get four more years out of "Desperate Housewives", and then nobody will ever see me again." Denton admitted to not being a fan of the time-skip between seasons four and five before eventually coming around: "I thought it was gimmicky, and even Marc admitted he sort of stole it. But I realized they were right. So that’s why I’m not a writer."


title: Mike Delfino

text: In August 2011, ABC president Paul Lee confirmed the eighth season of "Desperate Housewives" would be the show's last. Denton believed Cherry "had a pretty good feel for when the show was going to end based on the first couple of episodes that felt so much like season one in terms of dealing with the same kind of note from the pilot" and that he personally had a feeling the show was ending before it was officially announced. Denton observed that by the eighth season, "Mike and Susan are pretty secure and If they broke up it would really surprise me. I think it’s much more interesting for the writers, now that they’ve got them together after all these years, to watch them deal with these crazy situations in a realistic way that couples all across the country have to face all the time."


title: Mike Delfino

text: "Screen Rant" ranked Mike's death as the most emotional of the series, and added that the "fact that Mike's ghost is looking on as Susan says goodbye to Wisteria Lane makes this even more tragic and beautiful."


title: Mike Delfino

text: When they ranked the seasons of the series, "Screen Rant" cited "the pointless decision to kill off Mike Delfino so close to the show’s end" as the reason the eighth season lost major points.


title: Mike Delfino

text: Christina Tran wrote that she was still in denial about Mike's death even after knowing it would happen due to her fondness for the character: "Aside from the core four, Mike was the last person I wanted to see go."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: The Iraq War troop surge of 2007, commonly known as the troop surge, or simply the surge, refers to the George W. Bush administration's 2007 increase in the number of U.S. military combat troops in Iraq in order to provide security to Baghdad and Al Anbar Governorate.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: The surge was developed under the working title "The New Way Forward" and was announced in January 2007 by Bush during a television speech. Bush ordered the deployment of more than 20,000 soldiers into Iraq (five additional brigades), and sent the majority of them into Baghdad. He also extended the tour of most of the Army troops in country and some of the Marines already in Anbar. The President described the overall objective as establishing a "unified, democratic federal Iraq that can govern itself, defend itself, and sustain itself, and is an ally in the War on Terror." The major element of the strategy was a change in focus for the U.S. military "to help Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods, to help them protect the local population, and to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind are capable of providing the security". The President stated that the surge would then provide the time and conditions conducive to reconciliation between communities.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: Initiated against strong domestic opposition and after the Republican defeat in the 2006 midterm elections, the surge was considered extremely politically difficult. One White House staffer explained the political rationale succinctly: "If you're going to be a bear, be a grizzly." In retrospect, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and other critics of the surge have argued that it was successful.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: The phrases "New Way Forward", "The New Way Forward" and "A new way forward in Iraq" were widely used by White House Press Secretary Tony Snow and the news media prior to the President's speech on January 10, 2007 announcing the policy change. The US press also refers to the increase as a "surge" or "Iraq troop surge". Following the speech, some Democrats began using the term "escalation" rather than "surge", though others in the party used the terms interchangeably.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: Polls showed that after the 2006 general election, "A substantial majority of Americans expect Democrats to reduce or end American military involvement in Iraq if they [won] control of Congress". This view of the election as a referendum on the war was endorsed by Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi who in the final days of the campaign said, "This election is about Iraq. If indeed it turns out the way that people expect it to turn out, the American people will have spoken, and they will have rejected the course of action the president is on." The news media viewed the Democratic victory in both houses of the US Congress as "punishing President George W. Bush and his Republicans over ethics scandals in Washington and a failing war in Iraq."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: After her party's victory then House Speaker-elect Pelosi (who would a month later make clear her disdain for the "surge proposal") wrote an article entitled "Bringing the War to an End is my Highest Priority as Speaker". The article explained that after visiting wounded Iraq War veterans at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center, "I left there more committed than ever to bringing the war to an end. I told my colleagues yesterday that the biggest ethical issue facing our country for the past three and a half years is the war in Iraq. ... When the House reconvenes on January 4, 2007, Democrats will take power and I will take the gavel knowing the responsibility we have to you and to the country. The new Democratic Congress will live up to the highest ethical standard... [we] are prepared to lead and ready to govern. We will honor the trust of the American people; we will not disappoint."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: Following the 2006 United States midterm elections where the Republicans lost control of the House and Senate, a Heritage Foundation conference was chaired by Republican whip Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) under the title "The New Way Forward: Refocusing the Conservative Agenda" on November 9, 2006 to analyze "setbacks" from the election results. Blunt bemoaned the fact Republicans had "become the defenders rather than the challengers of business as usual."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: Blunt opened his speech listing the oft voiced explanations of his party's defeat which included that the results were in part "a referendum on the war in Iraq". He dismissed the notion that any one single reason explained the loss, saying "Different candidates lost for different reasons." He saw a bright side in events saying: The good news is that even with these shortcomings, low presidential approval numbers, and uncertainty about Iraq, our candidates saw, even with all those things happening, their ideas taking hold in the final days of their campaigns. A shift of 78,000 votes in the entire country would have changed the outcome. Our ideas didn't get beat; in fact, we did. He applauded the Constitutional system saying the defeat proves: that no one party has a permanent claim to power. ... This means any viable political movement, such as ours, can never afford to become stagnant or complacent. We must constantly refresh our ideas, assess our performance, and make corrections when necessary. This is a great moment to do all three of those things. For a generation Reagan conservatives have consistently demonstrated an ability to do just that. Nowhere has this been more evident than in our response to the threats of Islamic totalitarianism and the fight with our terrorist enemies. He said: While the threats of Islamic totalitarianism at times require different tactics, we are approaching those challenges with the same resolve that allowed us to defeat communism. I am convinced that in this fight we will also prevail because the American people understand the need to win. We must continue to lead the fight against Islamic totalitarianism and sustain the will to win the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. ... [On the war and on domestic issues] Our plan must avoid the mistakes of the past several years. ... I am confident that we will successfully move forward.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: In January 2005, the National Defense University applied its "Senturion" predictive analysis software to the Iraqi elections in order to determine which factions would support the elections, which would oppose them, and which would remain neutral. Senturion's forecasts were largely borne out by the actual course of events. Among other things, Senturion predicted that "increased coalition military strength in Iraq would have improved the attitudes of Iraqi stake holders toward the election by making them feel more secure." The simulations indicated that a 50% increase in troop strength was optimal, though a 25% increase would have been sufficient to capture the support of "neutral Iraqis". It also determined that due to Iraqi perceptions, the use of United Nations peacekeepers in place of US or coalition forces could achieve the same results with a smaller troop increase. These analyses were "performed and briefed to senior government decisionmakers well in advance of events."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: On December 6, 2006 the Iraq Study Group presented their report, which recommended both external and internal approaches for achieving positive progress in Iraq. Among other approaches, the report suggested that the "United States should significantly increase the number of U.S. military personnel, including combat troops, imbedded in and supporting Iraqi Army units." However, this language is not specifically included in any of the report's 79 recommendations. The ISG report mentioned a possible 10,000-20,000 troop increase for training but only until early 2008. Co-chairman James Baker said that since "events in Iraq could overtake what we recommend...[members] believe that decisions should be made by our national leaders with some urgency." Upon receiving the report Bush told the group "we will take every proposal seriously, and we will act in a timely fashion."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: Later in the day White House spokesman Tony Snow told CNN's Larry King that Bush was comparing recommendations "by the Iraq Study Group with pending studies by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Security Council." Once the review was finished, Snow believed that the President would be able to "announce a new way forward" in Iraq by the end of the year.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: On December 11, 2006 Bush met with Senior State Department advisers (including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice) "on how to shape U.S. policy in Iraq as part of Bush's mission to come up with a new strategy." He reiterated his intent to communicate that strategy to the nation before Christmas 2006, and said "There is no question we've got to make sure that the State Department and the Defense Department – the efforts and their recommendations are closely coordinated, so that when I do speak to the American people, they will know that I've listened to all aspects of government and that the way forward is the way forward to achieve our objective: to succeed in Iraq."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: Later on December 11, 2006 Bush met "with a group of Iraqi experts, including historians and former generals, in the Oval Office." The "Washington Post" reported that among the panel of experts were retired four-star generals Barry McCaffrey, Wayne A. Downing, and John Keane; along with academics Stephen Biddle and Eliot Cohen, who panned the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. The "Post" went on to say "The group disagreed on the key issue of whether to send more troops to Iraq, with retired Gen. John M. Keane arguing that several thousand additional soldiers could be used to improve security in Baghdad, and others expressing doubt about that proposal." The group also suggested Bush change personnel in his national security team. One panel member reported that "All of us said they have failed, that you need a new team." The President thanked the panel and told reporters "I appreciate the advice I got from those folks in the field. And that advice is ... an important component of putting together a new way forward in Iraq."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: The CIA's top counterinsurgency experts conducted an assessment that found the presence of US forces was key to stability. Brett H. McGurk added that "when we have a presence we are able to help resolve local disputes before they get out of control, police illegal conduct by Iraqi forces, and ultimately help the Iraqis develop their own patterns of interaction."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: On December 13, 2006 Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney met with the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for "more than an hour," discussing different military options for Iraq. While "no dramatic proposals" were put forward, "a pragmatic assessment of what can and cannot be done by the military" was offered.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: They did "not favor adding significant numbers of troops to Iraq" but saw "strengthening the Iraqi army as pivotal to achieving some degree of stability." They pressed for "greater U.S. effort on economic reconstruction and political reconciliation." They stressed the need for "employment programs, reconstruction and political reconciliation ... [as] key to pulling young men from the burgeoning militias." They said there was "no purely military solution for Iraq" and "without major progress on the political and economic fronts, the U.S. intervention is simply buying time." They also urged "that any new strategy be sensitive to regional context, particularly the impact of political or military decisions." They fear that throwing too much support to the Shiite majority may lead Sunni nations in the region to step up support of Sunni insurgents, and that a crackdown on Iraq's largest Shiite militia, the Mahdi army, may instigate more interference by Iran.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: General George William Casey Jr., the top US commander in Iraq, was reported to be "reviewing a plan to redefine the American military mission there: U.S. troops would be pulled out of Iraqi cities and consolidated at a handful of U.S. bases while day-to-day combat duty would be turned over to the Iraqi army." It was said that he was "still considering whether to request more troops, possibly as part of an expanded training mission to help strengthen the Iraqi army." These options were laid out by the outgoing US ground commander, Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli. Under the Chiarelli plan "the military would shift about half of its 15 combat brigades away from battling insurgents and sectarian violence and into training Iraqi security forces as soon as the spring of 2007. ... About 4,000 U.S. troops are now serving on 11-person military training teams embedded with Iraqi forces. The new plan would add 30 troops to each team, allowing them to provide supervision and mentoring down to the level of Iraqi army companies. ... the remaining seven to eight brigades of U.S. combat forces would focus on three core missions: striking al-Qaeda, strengthening security along Iraq's borders, and protecting major highways and other routes to ensure U.S. forces freedom of movement in Iraq. ... The plan would not allow for any major reduction in U.S. troops in Iraq over the next year – nor would it call for any surge in troops". Military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said that "In northern and western Iraq, U.S. commanders are already moving troops out of combat missions to place them as advisers with lower-level Iraqi army units."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: The Chiefs expressed "concern about the erosion of the U.S. military's ability to deal with other crises around the world because of the heavy commitment in Iraq and the stress on troops and equipment". They told Bush that there was "significantly increased risk to readiness in the event of a new emergency".


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: Speaking to reporters afterward Bush said "Our military cannot do this job alone. Our military needs a political strategy that is effective." He also stressed his ongoing commitment to securing Iraq, saying "If we lose our nerve, if we're not steadfast in our determination to help the Iraqi government succeed, we will be handing Iraq over to an enemy that would do us harm." When pressed for when he would announce his new way forward, he said he would not be "rushed" into a decision and was still reviewing his options.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: On December 14, 2006, when pressed by reporters for more information on his thinking on the matter Bush said "I am listening to a lot of advice to develop a strategy to help you succeed, a lot of consultations. I will be delivering my plans after a long deliberation, after steady deliberation. I'm not going to be rushed into making a decision." He stated that he had heard some "interesting" ideas. He also said he heard some "ideas that would lead to defeat ... [and] I reject those ideas. Ideas such as leaving before the job is done. Ideas such as not helping this (Iraqi) government take the necessary and hard steps to be able to do its job." He said he wanted the incoming Defense Secretary Robert Gates "to have time to evaluate the situation" and come up with his own suggestions. That same day Iraqi President Jalal Talabani issued a written statement saying that he had received Bush's assurances that "he would make no decisions on his new Iraq strategy that would be 'against your interests' ... [and his pledge] to work with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on his efforts to implement a Baghdad security plan". CNN reported that "Administration officials say Bush is 'not satisfied' with some of the information he has been getting and 'is asking people to get him more' information on various options in Iraq."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: Though originally scheduled for late 2006, the announcement on "the new way forward" was delayed to give the President "more time" to gather information. Press secretary Tony Snow said the administration was hoping for the president to deliver the speech before Christmas, although he said the timing was not nailed down.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: This American Enterprise Institute surge study referenced is listed as having been posted December 14, and was called the "real Iraq Study Group report" by its author. The draft was presented on December 14 by Frederick Kagan, AEI, General Jack Keane, and Kenneth Pollack. AEI released its final report to the press on January 5, 2007, under the title "Iraq: A Turning Point (With Reports from Iraq from Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman)". The event description stated the following:


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle also connected Bush's strategy to this AEI report, writing "In addition to the changing of the military guard and moving ahead with the 'surge' option, President Bush's Iraq strategy involves more money for reconstruction, job creation, and for 'moderate Iraqi political parties as a means of building a centrist political coalition to support Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki,' according to "The Wall Street Journal". This more holistic approach – reportedly entitled 'The New Way Forward' – echoes in many ways," an AEI paper.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: Bush was expected to announce a "surge" in forces that some sources say could be up to 20,000 troops. According to Reuters, "While Bush is to announce a complete overhaul of his Iraq policy, including economic and political components, the possibility of a troop increase has gained the most attention. Despite a divide on the issue, Bush in recent days has hinted toward a preference for increasing troop strength by saying he wanted to help Iraqis gain control of the security situation there. "One thing is for certain, I will want to make sure that the mission is clear and specific and can be accomplished," Bush said on Thursday when asked about a troop increase." In fact, Bush's proposed increase was 21,000 US troops, 4000 of which would be Marine Corps focused on Al Anbar Governorate while the others would be embedded into Iraqi units to provide security to Baghdad.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: Just before the 110th Congress convened on January 4 some Democrats said they planned to call Defense Secretary Robert Gates before the Senate Armed Services Committee "to explain, if not try to defend, the president's plan."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: Prior to the speech, US Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a member of the Armed Services Committee, held a press conference with former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark and Jon Soltz, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and together called on Bush "to listen to the advice of his generals and the American people and offer a new plan to change course in Iraq."


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: In a nationally televised address on January 10, Bush stated "America will change our strategy to help the Iraqis carry out their campaign to put down sectarian violence and bring security to the people of Baghdad. This will require increasing American force levels. So I've committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq. The vast majority of them – five brigades – will be deployed to Baghdad".


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: On the same day of the speech, ABC News announced that ninety advance troops from the 82nd Airborne Division had already arrived in Baghdad.


title: Iraq War troop surge of 2007

text: In advance of the State of the Union address, Bush gave several promotional speeches to Belo television and Sinclair television, suggesting that the surge "should be given a chance" and challenged critical lawmakers to offer an alternative.