All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

129 Tich Freeman Although they both had first–class centuries to their names, numbers ten and eleven, burly leg-spinner Richard Tyldesley and Australian fast bowler Ted McDonald, aren’t particularly remembered for their batting. However, hitting out boldly they put on 36 before George Watson relieved the tension by holding a difficult catch at long on to finish the innings. Freeman’s ten for 131 was the most expensive all-ten ever, just ‘beating’ Lillywhite’s ten for 129 back in 1872. He was chaired back into the pavilion for his efforts. He had been excellently supported by keen Kent ground fielding and behind the stumps by Les Ames who made two stumpings, took a catch and conceded no byes in an innings of 347. Of Freeman’s 267 wickets in 1929, thirty-five were stumpings by Ames who would retire over 20 years later having taken a world record 418 stumpings. Freeman is the only bowler to have taken all-ten at Maidstone and as Mote Park saw the last of its 218 first-class matches in 2005 it may be a record that remains unbeaten. Umpire Jimmy Stone had officiated each of the last three all-tens, including Kennedy’s and, earlier in the 1929 season, Allen’s. When Kent went in at the end of the day after a delay for rain, George Watson was quickly brought down to earth, caught behind without scoring by Duckworth. This would be the last of Watson’s eight matches for Kent but he would later play over 200 matches for Leicestershire. Freeman had a modest career record as a batsman, but he had made a Test fifty against Australia, and next day it took a ninth wicket partnership of 63, the highest of the Kent innings, between Les Todd (52 not out) and Freeman (28) to avert the follow-on. With only one wicket at a cost of 96, Freeman could not repeat his mastery of the Red Rose batsmen a second time around. Hallows finally got another century, The Times opining that he played Freeman as well as any batsman in the country, a score of 114 lending weight to this opinion. Freeman’s only victim was Thomas Halliday, bowled for 4, the last innings of his 41-match career. Another four and he would at least have finished it with 1,000 runs. Set 418 to win Kent made only 228. Halliday made his final mark in the first-class game by catching Freeman (for 11) off the left-arm spin of Jack Iddon. Despite losing, Kent remained at the top of the table, just, but it wouldn’t last. Freeman had taken ten South African wickets for England earlier in the month at Headingley and immediately after Maidstone he travelled to Old Trafford where he took another twelve wickets. Not surprisingly in view of his form he retained his place for the final Test at The Oval, a match in which Ames, replacing Duckworth, began his successful 47-match England career with a duck. Unfortunately in South Africa’s only innings Freeman took nought for 169, his worst ever first-class analysis, and he had played his last Test. One of the umpires was Billy Bestwick, who knew a bit about all-tens. Freeman took 66 wickets in 12 Test matches, a decent record, but most of his success came against the ‘lesser’ nations, South Africa and the West Indies. In two Tests in Australia his eight wickets cost 57 each. He might have done better if he had been picked against them at home, but it never