All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

104 Tom Rushby Surrey v Somerset, 1921 County Championship County Ground, Taunton on 6, 7, 8 July 1921 (3-day match) Toss won by Surrey Surrey won by 229 runs Umpires: AJ Atfield, JH Board Surrey 236 and 264 (A Sandham 109, E Robson 6-84); Somerset 110 (T Rushby 10-43) and 161 (JW Hitch 6-59) Somerset first innings PR Johnson c Hitch b Rushby 0 AES Rippon lbw b Rushby 10 SGU Considine b Rushby 0 LE Wharton c Shepherd b Rushby 7 TC Lowry b Rushby 18 E Robson b Rushby 31 *J Daniell lbw b Rushby 0 JC White c Shepherd b Rushby 0 GE Hunt c Strudwick b Rushby 1 WS Whiting not out 18 +SL Amor c Sandham b Rushby 19 Extras (b 5, w 1) 6 Total (all out, 35.5 overs) 110 Fall of wickets 1-2, 2-3, 3-10, 4-32, 5-41, 6-45, 7-51, 8-61, 9-82, 10-110 Surrey bowling: JW Hitch 8-1-21-0, T Rushby 17.5-4-43-10, PGH Fender 8-1-35-0, HA Peach 2-1-5-0 Surrey: A Jeacocke, A Sandham, A Ducat, TF Shepherd, HA Peach, JW Hitch, PGH Fender (capt), WJ Abel, JH Vincett, H Strudwick (wk), T Rushby Soon after White’s all-ten, the tables were turned as Somerset had two inflicted upon them in a three-week period, the first by Surrey’s Tom Rushby. Born in Cobham, Surrey in 1880, Rushby was by trade a carpenter and so better placed than some to cope with the uncertainties of life as a professional cricketer. Making his first-class debut in 1903 he came to the fore in 1909, taking over 100 wickets and finishing close to the top of the national averages. But then in 1910 he left Surrey to play Lancashire League cricket. The issues are murky, but this seems to have been related to a rift between Committee and players which resulted in England’s Jack Crawford leaving and the termination of the contract of Australian Alan Marshal. Fortunately Rushby’s northern sojourn was brief and he was back in 1911. His tireless fast-medium bowling, often on fairly batsmen- friendly Oval pitches, made him a mainstay of the Surrey attack and in 1914, when they won the Championship for the only time between 1899 and the 1950s, he headed the county’s averages. Unsurprisingly the circumstances were unusual. Because of the War Surrey, well clear at the top of the table, cancelled their last two matches. Some argued that they had forfeited the right to the title and that it should be held in abeyance.