All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

60 Edwin Tyler have been consolation for this week of slaughter. It came towards the end of August against eventual Champions Surrey. Heavily reliant upon amateurs, Somerset often had difficulties in putting their best side out. Apart from Tyler the only other professional who played regularly was George Nichols, a hardworking fast-medium bowler who later went into business with Tyler, and also wrote plays. Somerset had started the season badly, but then redeemed themselves by winning five successive matches during August. Despite enduring a few hammerings Tyler had been taking wickets consistently. A homely ground close to the centre of Taunton, the County Ground has hosted first-class cricket since 1882. Dominated by church towers at one end and the Quantock Hills at the other, it is one of the most attractive grounds on the circuit. It had originally had a cinder athletics track but, as part of ongoing development, by the 1890s this had been covered over. Surrey needed to win to hold off Lancashire’s challenge for the Championship. Earlier in the season they had comfortably beaten Somerset by nine wickets at The Oval (Tyler bowling 27 wicketless overs). Unlike Somerset the Surrey side was based on its professionals and the only amateurs at Taunton were Walter Read (standing in for Kingsmill Key as captain) and ‘Shrimp’ Leveson Gower. Somerset’s first innings had been notable for a typically elegant 64 (the only fifty in the match) by Lionel Palairet against a powerful Surrey attack of Tom Richardson, George Lohmann and Bill Lockwood (albeit that Lohmann was just returning to the side having missed two seasons because of ill health and Lockwood was suffering a temporary loss of form). There was a good attendance and ‘much enthusiasm was shown’. Reaching 93 for two thanks to consistent contributions from Bobby Abel, Tom Hayward and Maurice Read, Surrey’s response began well and a healthy lead looked likely. However after they were all caught off Tyler nobody stayed long and at the close they were 135 for eight. Both openers had been caught at mid off by Coote Hedley, a career soldier and useful fast-medium bowler, whose action was however under some suspicion. Abel had let Somerset off lightly. Four years later at The Oval he would carry his bat for a Surrey record 357 (out of 811). It was a match that Tyler was probably glad to miss. Curiously although Abel would make 74 first-class centuries, it was the only one he made in 28 matches against Somerset. 24-year-old Hayward had not yet scored 1,000 runs in a season (he was eventually to do so twenty times) but his promise had been noticed and he would make his Test debut the following winter in South Africa. Tyler’s overnight figures were eight for 45. Next morning he quickly had Surrey keeper Charles Marshall caught by his counterpart Arthur Newton and then bowled Tom Richardson. He had bowled unchanged. At the other end Sammy Woods, who of course already had an all-ten to his name, bowled 18 unrewarded overs. As his batting advanced he was not now the bowler he had once been. Tyler’s figures are still a Somerset record. As six of the Surrey side made centuries during the season and three would make Test centuries it was a