All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

84 Colin Blythe Kent v Northamptonshire, 1907 County Championship County Ground, Northampton on 30, 31 May, 1 June 1907 (3-day match) Toss won by Kent Kent won by an innings and 155 runs Umpires: W Attewell, CE Dench Kent 254 (W East 5-77); Northamptonshire 60 (C Blythe 10-30) and 39 (C Blythe 7-18) Northamptonshire first innings +WA Buswell st Huish b Blythe 0 M Cox st Huish b Blythe 0 CJT Pool c Fielder b Blythe 0 WH Kingston lbw b Blythe 2 GJ Thompson b Blythe 0 W East c Huish b Blythe 0 *EM Crosse c Fairservice b Blythe 0 AR Thompson c Seymour b Blythe 10 GAT Vials not out 33 W Wells c Humphreys b Blythe 0 LT Driffield b Blythe 12 Extras (b 1, lb 2) 3 Total (all out, 31 overs) 60 Fall of wickets 1-0, 2-0, 3-1, 4-3, 5-4, 6-4, 7-4, 8-24, 9-26, 10-60 Kent bowling : C Blythe 16-7-30-10, WJ Fairservice 12-5-17-0, A Fielder 3-0-10-0 Kent : FE Woolley, HTW Hardinge, J Seymour, KL Hutchings, AP Day, EW Dillon, E Humphreys, FH Huish (wk), WJ Fairservice, C Blythe, A Fielder Among a number of worthy contenders, many rate Colin Blythe the best left-arm spinner of all. A testing opponent in all conditions, he had a fluent action, bringing his arm from behind his back in a long sweeping arc, and the left-arm spinner’s full armoury: the stock leg break, the arm-ball, and a medium-pace inswinger, all allied to perplexing changes of flight and pace. And if all this failed a few high full tosses might lure the batsman to destruction. He was also a fine violinist and this no doubt helped strengthen the long fingers which could extract turn on most surfaces. Born in Deptford, south east London in 1879 the young Blythe (nicknamed Charlie because of his cheery cockney personality) was apprenticed at Woolwich Arsenal and played local cricket. In July 1897 he went to Rectory Field, Blackheath, to see Kent play Somerset and was spotted bowling a few balls before play to Kent veteran Walter Wright. This led to a successful trial at the newly-established Tonbridge nursery, and a first-class debut there two years later when his first ball bowled Yorkshire’s Frank Mitchell. (Mitchell had played twice for England in South Africa and would captain South Africa in the 1912 Triangular tournament.) It was the beginning of a