All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

115 Nottinghamshire, second in the Championship, went into the match needing a win to keep the pressure on leaders (and eventual Champions) Yorkshire. Kent, having a good run, were in fifth place. Collins had contributed relatively little recently: a few useful scores, but, after a good start with the ball, only six wickets since the beginning of July. To be fair, his opportunities were limited by the form of spinners ‘Tich’ Freeman and Frank Woolley who jointly took 336 Championship wickets in the season. Carved into a hillside, the Crabble Athletic Ground was an interesting venue: on one side backed by steep terraces, on the other the land falling away into a wooded valley floor. Players leaving the field had to climb steep steps to the pavilion, with even more climbing to reach the professionals’ dressing room on one floor, the dining room on another, and the amateurs’ dressing room yet one storey higher. Sadly, the pitch declared unfit, the ground saw the last of its 106 first-class matches in 1976. Kent batted first and were all out just before the close for 351, Jack Bryan andWally Hardinge having openedwith a stand of 158. Three of the first five Nottinghamshire batsmen had appeared for England, and the two others would soon do so. However, despite this apparent strength, the Midland county lost 16 wickets on the second day, 12 of them to Collins. Showers delaying play for about half an hour, Nottinghamshire began batting in overcast conditions. However, the pitch continued to favour batting and in no way explained their poor showing. Collins opened the bowling from the pavilion end, helped by a stiff breeze blowing down the pitch. He struck quickly: with the score 12 he had William Whysall well caught at mid off by Godfrey Bryan (Jack’s brother) and then trapped the great George Gunn leg-before to a ball that kept slightly low. Nottinghamshire continued to struggle. At 71 for eight (Collins having taken six wickets) they faced the embarrassment of failing to reach three figures. Joe Hardstaff (18 not out) however helped to marshal the tail, but a final score of 120 still left them well adrift on the first innings. Collins had made the ball swing as well as break back quickly and in 17 overs achieved career-best figures of six for 18, and not a duff batsman among them. Kent captain Lionel Troughton probably had little hesitation in asking the visitors to follow on. In the first innings Collins had opened the bowling with Woolley. Second time around he was partnered by Bill Ashdown who, 13 years later, would make 305 not out against Derbyshire at Dover, easily the ground’s record score. Notts began again soon after 4 o’clock. They didn’t start well. In the first over, George Gunn, in typically eccentric fashion, made six runs and then walked two yards down the pitch and lost his middle stump! Four wickets were soon down for 13, including Gunn’s brother John bowled for 4, and Notts’ captain Arthur Carr who skyed the ball to cover point and was caught by Freeman without scoring. A two- day finish looked possible, but the resolute Hardstaff found a like-minded partner in Wilfred Payton (42) and the two veterans stayed together almost until the close, when two wickets fell quickly leaving Nottinghamshire hopelessly placed at 98 for six. Little play was needed on Friday morning. Hardstaff went quickly, Collins pinning him in front of the stumps for a patient 49. Hardstaff’s son, Joe junior, would himself be part of an Eric George Collins