All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

97 Billy Bestwick and steelworks and to qualify for Glamorgan, for whom he played in 1914 before they joined the County Championship. After the War, Bestwick and Derbyshire made up their differences and in 1919 the returning veteran headed the county averages. Unable to agree terms for 1920 Bestwick was again back in south Wales but Derbyshire saw sense, improved their offer, and he returned to his home county for the following season. He had lost a little speed, but his skill was undiminished and even in 1925, his last season, he took seven for 20 against Leicestershire. Derbyshire finished twelfth in the Championship in 1921, a seemingly modest achievement, but a considerable improvement on 1920 when they lost all their 17 matches. Wisden chiefly attributed this change in fortunes to Bestwick who took three times as many wickets as any other bowler. Glamorgan were in their first Championship season. They had won their inaugural match, against Sussex, in front of a wildly enthusiastic Cardiff crowd of some 7,000, but little went right after that and when the season ended the Welsh county had taken over from Derbyshire as wooden spoonists. The county ground was next to the famous Cardiff Arms Park: this was not yet the dominating presence it would become upon completion in 1934 of a new double-decker rugby stand along the southern boundary of the cricket ground. Despite his years Bestwick was back full-time. He had taken 1,024 first-class wickets in a 240-match career and had begun the season in fine form, adding another 56 wickets in just seven matches. With 147 wickets at less than 17 apiece Bestwick would eventually have his best season ever, and finish close to the top of the first-class averages. Derbyshire were captained at Cardiff by 40-year-old George Buckston who had returned to the first-class game after a break of 14 years. Their western tour had not gone well so far with defeats against Somerset and Gloucestershire, and things weren’t looking any better by close on Saturday. Missing their captain and leading batsman, Norman Riches, Glamorgan scored 168 (Bestwick four for 71, William Bates 67). Derbyshire began their innings against two Glamorgan bowlers at different stages in their careers, 23-year-old Johnnie Clay and 47-year-old Jack Nash. The young and the old soon reduced the visitors to nought for three, a catastrophic start from which they never recovered. With Bates achieving career-best figures of four for 17 with his left-arm spin Derbyshire’s innings finished just before close of play, Bestwick making one of his 141 career ducks. What to do on the Sunday rest day? Have a drink of course. For away matches, to ensure some moderation, one of the team was usually given the job of chaperoning Bestwick, the long-serving, and perhaps long- suffering, allrounder Arthur Morton often getting the job. Unfortunately, because of a motorcycle accident Morton was out of the side and the usual arrangements clearly failed because by Sunday evening Bestwick was ‘hors-de-combat’ after a heavy session with friends from Neath. However, whatever condition he was still in on Monday morning clearly didn’t affect his bowling. Opening the attack in overcast conditions, he bowled the Glamorgan vice-captain Tom Whittington in his first over and with the score nine William Gemmill shared the same fate. Leicestershire-