All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

100 Jack White Somerset v Worcestershire, 1921 County Championship County Ground, New Road, Worcester on 18, 20, 21 June 1921 (3-day match) Toss won by Worcestershire Somerset won by 83 runs Umpires: J Carlin, J Moss Somerset 237 (E.Robson 111) and 364 (PR Johnson 163, CV Tarbox 7-55); Worcestershire 237 (JC White 10-76) and 281 (E Robson 5-83, JC White 5-99) Worcestershire first innings FL Bowley c Lowry b White 1 FA Pearson c and b White 74 RE Turner b White 12 HL Higgins lbw b White 16 *MFS Jewell st Chidgey b White 66 WE Richardson b White 7 CR Preece c Daniell b White 27 CV Tarbox b White 13 +CB Ponsonby lbw b White 0 VW Humpherson not out 2 HA Gilbert c Hope b White 0 Extras (b 14, lb 5) 19 Total (all out, 91.2 overs) 237 Fall of wickets 1-4, 2-47, 3-81, 4-106, 5-127, 6-182, 7-222, 8-222, 9-237, 10-237 Somerset bowling: E Robson 25-4-71-0, JC White 42.2-11-76-10, GE Hunt 18-4-55-0, LE Wharton 6-2-16-0 Somerset: PR Johnson, J Daniell (capt), TC Lowry, LE Wharton, FE Spurway, E Robson, PP Hope, JC White, LH Key, GE Hunt, H Chidgey (wk) Together with W.G.Grace and Trevor Bailey, Jack (J.C.) White is one of only three amateurs to have taken 2,000 first-class wickets. Born in 1891 in Holford, in north Somerset, he followed his father into farming. Fortunately he organised his life so that agriculture didn’t cause him to miss too much cricket, and when he was away his father looked after business. At Taunton School he came under the influence of coach and fellow slow left-armer Ted Tyler, then the only bowler with an all-ten for Somerset. He made his first-class debut in 1909. Excused war service as a farmer, he took 100 wickets in a season for the first time in 1919, a feat he repeated annually until 1932. When he retired in 1937 he had taken 2,165 wickets for Somerset, a total nobody has got close to passing. White had a ruddy complexion and hair which had turned from fair to silvery-grey. He didn’t spin the ball much. He didn’t need to. He had many other strengths: cunning flight, the ability to make the ball swerve and