All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

61 Edwin Tyler considerable feat. A collection made for him on the ground produced over £35. Only one other bowler, J.C. White, another slow left–armer, has ever taken an all-ten for Somerset. Richardson added another seven second innings Somerset wickets to the six he had taken in the first and Surrey were left 171 to win. Several Surrey batsmen reached double figures but none stayed long enough to enable their side to get close as Tyler took three more wickets. With three run- outs, including Abel (the season’s top run-scorer apart from Grace), Surrey hadn’t helped their cause. Taking 14 Yorkshire wickets in the next match, Tyler passed 100 wickets for the third and final time in his career, finishing the season with 124 wickets in all matches; although they did cost 22.58 runs each, making him the most expensive of all the 15 bowlers who took 100 wickets in 1895. His efforts largely contributed to the county achieving a very creditable equal eighth place in the Championship. His reward was a trip to South Africa with Lord Hawke’s team. Unsuited to the pitches, and handicapped by poor health, Tyler had a poor tour. He played in the Third Test, acquitting himself creditably with four wickets, but competition was too great for him ever to be picked again for England. Unfortunately, Tyler had a doubtful action, likened by some to an athlete putting the shot. There were a number of other suspect bowlers playing around the turn of the century. Eventually umpires began to act and Tyler was one of a number called. The deed was done on 27 August 1900 towards the end the first day of the Surrey match at Taunton. Australian James Phillips, a fearless umpire who had already called Australian Ernie Jones in a Test, no-balled Tyler twice early in the Surrey innings. Walter Wright, the other umpire, disagreed with Phillips and in the second over in which no-ball was called refused to allow an extra delivery. There was much indignation that a professional who bowled too slowly to hurt anybody should be called, although others thought that slow bowlers shouldn’t be exempt. Strangely Tyler bowled again next day coming on for just one ball at the end of the Surrey innings and dismissing Tom Richardson. His figures for the innings were one for 6 from 2.1 overs. He didn’t bowl in the second innings and that was more or less the end of his career. He played a few matches unsuccessfully in 1901 and 1903. A last comeback at the end of 1907 was a little more successful. The team was short of bowling and he started with innings figures of nine for 83 against Sussex and six for 157 against Middlesex, but after that his season petered out and Wisden commented that ‘for the most part his slows looked very harmless’. He finished his career with 895 wickets at an average of 22.09. Although his cricket career finished early Tyler was already an entrepreneur with many other means of income including as a sports outfitter, tobacconist, insurance agent, travel agent and publican. And at Taunton School he coached Somerset’s most successful ever bowler, J.C. White. A popular man, he died at Taunton in 1917 aged only 52.