All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

58 Harry Pickett who seldom wore batting gloves and who captained the county from 1890 to 1906. Leicestershire’s elevation to first-class status was mainly due to his drive and enthusiasm. On the other hand another specialist batsman Charles Stone, who was in the middle of a run (spread over two seasons) of six consecutive innings that yielded one run, completed the first half of a pair. The one batsman who evaded Pickett was 24-year-old left-hand allrounder John King who was making his first-class debut. Thirty years later he played the last of his 502 matches for the county, by which time he had scored nearly 23,000 runs (including a double-century against Hampshire at the age of 52) and taken 1,100 wickets for them. Pickett hit the stumps six times. The other wickets fell to catches, two of which were taken by wicketkeeper Tom Russell, whose pair later in the match followed a duck in his previous innings, against Middlesex. Essex failed to pass Leicestershire’s meagre score and the visitors were batting again by the end of the first day, losing an early wicket to Pickett. Despite Kortright’s eight wickets they did better second time around and Essex were left 199 to win. De Trafford (44) again batted well, but top- scorer was Mat Chapman whose obdurate 56 was the highest score of his 28-match career. Pickett took no further wickets in the Leicestershire second innings and The Times commented that ‘he had nothing like the pitch and spin that he possessed in the first stages of the game’. On a far from perfect pitch Essex slumped to 98 for five by the close. The remaining wickets soon fell on the next day with the only resistance to fast bowler Arthur Woodcock (seven for 62, and twelve wickets in the match) being provided by Charles McGahey’s 54. Despite Pickett’s all-ten his team had lost by 75 runs. After their good start to the season Leicestershire lost form and finished equal twelfth (out of 14) in the Championship. Wisden commented that ‘it was a matter of common knowledge that there was a lack of discipline among the professionals’. Essex on the other hand, after their poor showing in 1894, performed creditably to finish equal sixth. Pickett’s 1895 renaissance was soon over. Overweight and in his mid-30s, his tally of wickets fell in the next two seasons and he was not even in the team for his benefit match against Hampshire at Leyton. A rain-affected match yielded only £150, although collections by schoolboys of the county resulted in him being presented with a timepiece and a miniature bat, ball and stumps in gold and silver. After leaving Essex Pickett umpired two full seasons and then coached at Clifton College. His end was tragic. At the end of September 1907, nearly penniless and with several children to support, he disappeared from his home. His body was found on the beach at Aberavon, South Wales six days later. His wife died the following March. Tragically, Arthur Woodcock, who had bowled Leicestershire to victory in the match in which Pickett had taken his all-ten, also died by his own hand, taking poison in May 1910 at the age of 44.