All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

77 George Dennett Gloucestershire v Essex, 1906 County Championship Ashley Down Ground, Bristol on 6, 7 August 1906 (3-day match) Toss won by Essex Gloucestershire won by nine wickets Umpires: AE Clapp, FW Marlow Essex 84 (EG Dennett 10-40) and 127 (EG Dennett 5-48, FB Roberts 5-69); Gloucestershire 173 (JWHT Douglas 5-50) and 39-1 Essex first innings *FL Fane c Jessop b Dennett 11 JWHT Douglas b Dennett 14 PA Perrin c Brownless b Dennett 22 CP McGahey c Brownlee b Dennett 17 WMF Turner st Board b Dennett 0 FH Gillingham c Spry b Dennett 4 AJ Turner c Thomas b Dennett 3 W Reeves c Brownlee b Dennett 4 CP Buckenham lbw b Dennett 5 +AE Russell not out 0 W Mead c Goodwin b Dennett 2 Extras (lb 2) 2 Total (all out, 38.4 overs) 84 Fall of wickets 1-19, 2-47, 3-47, 4-47, 5-55, 6-70, 7-75, 8-81, 9-82, 10-84 Gloucestershire bowling : EG Dennett 19.4-7-40-10, FB Roberts 19-8-42-0 Gloucestershire: COH Sewell, EP Barnett, GL Jessop (capt), AFM Townsend, JH Board (wk), FE Thomas, LD Brownlee, HS Goodwin, FB Roberts, EJ Spry, EG Dennett Along with Jack Newman of Hampshire and Glamorgan’s Don Shepherd, George Dennett is one of only three bowlers to have taken over 2,000 first-class wickets but never play for England. He was a fine slow left-arm bowler, but he played at the same time as Wilfred Rhodes, Colin Blythe and Frank Woolley and with relatively few Tests staged then it was going to be difficult for him to get a cap. Cool even when under attack, with a quick arm action Dennett obtained considerable bounce and got many batsmen caught on the off side as they were unable to keep their drives on the ground. Strangely, as he delivered the ball he looked not at the batsman but up in the air. Dennett was born in Upwey, Dorset in 1879. He began as a professional for the Grange Club in Edinburgh before being discovered by Gilbert Jessop playing in Bristol club cricket. He made his first-class debut in 1903 and took well over 100 wickets in every season up to the War. In 1907 he became the first Gloucestershire bowler to take 200 wickets in a season. The Ashley Down ground had been laid out during the 1880s on open