All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

ABOUT THE AUTHOR When Chris Overson wrote his previous book for the ACS, about Jack Robertson and Syd Brown in the Lives in Cricket series, he was a retired government statistician. Four years later he still is. He has always found bowlers more interesting than batsmen and, finally having given up waiting for somebody to write a book about cricket’s greatest bowling feat, decided he would do it himself. Memory can play tricks, but he is reasonably certain that the closest he has ever come to seeing an all-ten was when he was playing for Bessborough CC 2nd XI against Kodak (Harrow) many years ago. Kodak were batting second. A colleague had taken nine wickets and Chris was bowling slow left-arm at the other end and trying not to get a wicket (a feat he often managed even when he was trying). However his captain, who also happened to be keeping wicket, was more concerned with winning than with statistical niceties, and stumped the last man off a long hop bowled wide of the off stump. There was still half an hour’s play left, and it was a friendly match! As all-tens have become increasingly rare Chris is confident that this book won’t be out of date by the time it is published, but will be pleasantly surprised if it is.