All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

8 Edmund Hinkly Kent v England, 1848 Lord’s Cricket Ground, St John’s Wood on 10, 11 July 1848 (3-day match) Toss won by England England won by 55 runs England 120 (E Hinkly 6-?) and 74 (E Hinkly 10-?); Kent 90 (J Wisden 7-?) and 49 (J Wisden 5-?) England second innings R Kynaston b Hinkly 0 J Dean b Hinkly 2 W Clarke st Dorrinton b Hinkly 10 +T Box c Hillyer b Hinkly 18 J Guy not out 28 G Parr b Hinkly 4 T Sewell b Hinkly 6 J Wisden c Adams b Hinkly 0 OC Pell c Hillyer b Hinkly 2 FW Lillywhite st Dorrinton b Hinkly 0 FH Hervey-Bathurst b Hinkly 0 Extras (b 4) 4 Total all out) 74 Fall of wickets 1-1, 2-2, 3-31, 4-32, 5-38, 6-56, 7-?, 8-70, 9-70, 10-74 Kent bowling : WR Hillyer ?-?-?-0, E Hinkly ?-?-?-10, W.Martingell ?-?-?-0 Kent: W Martingell, W Pilch, TM Adams, F Pilch, A Mynn, N Felix, WR Hillyer, W Dorrinton (wk), CJ Harenc, HE Knatchbull, E Hinkly Edmund Hinkly, the first bowler to take all-ten in a first-class match, was a Man of Kent, born in 1817 in the Wealden village of Benenden, west of Tenterden. The village sign depicts two other contemporary Benenden cricketers - wicketkeeper Ned Wenman, who kept to Hinkly a number of times, and Wenman’s Kent colleague Richard Mills. Neither however played in the game in which Hinkly bowled himself into the record-books. Cricketers of their day needed other means of earning money when not playing, and by trade Hinkly was a shoemaker. He was a left-arm fastish bowler, 5ft 7in tall and of wiry build. Like most of his time he bowled round arm and was one of the first swervers. He is also described as breaking the ball from leg, a combination which suggests that he could be a difficult customer to face. However, because of poor health his career was fairly short. Most of his first-class cricket was played for Kent, but as he lived for many years near The Oval he also played some games for Surrey. County cricket had not yet fully evolved, many of the present first-class counties had not yet been formed, and like many cricketers of his time Hinkly found employment as a professional for a number of teams throughout the country, including Watford, his first professional engagement in 1844.