All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

32 Alfred Shaw Marylebone Cricket Club v North, 1874 Lord’s Cricket Ground, St John’s Wood on 1, 2 June 1874 (3-day match) Toss won by North North won by 45 runs Umpires: T Hearne, W Price North 175 (A Shaw 10-73) and 106 (F Morley 5-48); MCC 154 and 82 (JC Shaw 5-44) North first innings E Lockwood c Grace b Shaw 38 A Greenwood b Shaw 4 *AN Hornby c Buller b Shaw 53 W Oscroft b Shaw 24 HS Reynolds b Shaw 13 T Emmett c Grace b Shaw 13 WB Clarke c Coote b Shaw 4 A Hil st Biddulph b Shaw 1 +T Plumb not out 7 M McIntyre c Biddulph b Shaw 11 JC Shaw b Shaw 0 Extras (b 6, lb 1) 7 Total all out, 89.2 overs) 175 Fall of wickets 1-19, 2-99, 3-108, 4-129, 5-147, 6-151, 7-154, 8-159, 9-175, 10-175 MCC bowling : A Shaw 36.2-8-73-10, F Morley 24-8-49-0, WG Grace 22-7- 35-0, RO Clayton 7-3-11-0 MCC: WG Grace, CP Coote, C Marriott, CF Buller, FJ Crooke, G Bird, W Penn, A Shaw, RO Clayton, S Biddulph (wk), F Morley W.G.Grace thought Alfred Shaw ‘perhaps the best bowler in England’ during the 1870s. And he should know: Shaw dismissed him 49 times, a total unsurpassed by any other bowler. Of medium height, Shaw bowled with an easy action following a brisk six-pace run up. He could bowl a sharp off break, but largely relied on turning the ball just enough, together with subtle variations of pace. Above all he was famed for his remarkable accuracy: over half of his (mainly 4-ball) overs were maidens, and he bowled more overs than he conceded runs. In terms of stamina, persistence and economy, many of his analyses are astonishing, albeit on pitches often helpful to bowlers. Born in Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire in 1842, the youngest of 13 children, Shaw left school at the age of ten following his mother’s death, initially working as a farm hand. He first appeared at Lord’s in the Colts match against MCC in May 1864. With 13 wickets he made quite an impact, and his first-class debut followed next month. He played regularly for Nottinghamshire until 1886 and was also on the MCC groundstaff. In a first-class career that lasted until 1897 he took just over 2,000 wickets,