Famous Cricketers No 60 - Ernest Tyldesley

515. Lancashire (Champion County) v The Rest of England, Kennington Oval, September 13, 15, 16, 17 (The Rest of England won by ten wickets) c L.E.G.Ames b M.S.Nichols 5 115 263 1 c L.E.G.Ames b M.S.Nichols 2 190 43-0 SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Avge 100 50 Ct County Championship 28 41 8 1811 256* 54.87 7 4 9 Other Lancashire matches 4 6 0 93 48 15.50 - - 1 Season 32 47 8 1904 256* 48.82 7 4 10 Career 515 762 82 30232 256* 44.45 77 147 215 Bowling O M R W BB Avge Other Lancashire matches 2 0 17 0 - - Career 64 9 325 6 3-33 54.16 1931 Tyldesley again played in all Lancashire’s County Championship matches - indeed he missed only the game against Oxford University besides the two games abandoned without a ball being bowled (against Hampshire and Sussex). Though not scoring quite as well as in 1930, he again topped the county averages by a good five points and generally showed an amazing consistency. His first innings of note was a second innings 78 down at Swansea in the fourth game, when he and Frank Watson shared a second wicket stand of 180 in 150 minutes. A week later at Old Trafford he showed admirable resistance in the face of the unstoppable “Tich” Freeman, who yet again took all ten Lancashire wickets in an innings; he helped Eddie Paynter take the score from 66 for 4 to 146 for 5 and contributed a resolute 70 to the all out total of 184. This innings, incidentally, ended his run of three consecutive first innings “ducks” - a fate he was to suffer six times in total during the season. It was all the more remarkable since he collected only 42 “ducks” in his entire career. After another such failure he rescued Lancashire from 3 for 2 with a masterly second innings 54 out of 200 all out which consigned Middlesex to a home defeat. A week later at Tonbridge he commenced his “purple patch” with a knock of 120; Iddon (153) joined him in a third wicket stand of 230 in 170 minutes. A further week on he took 127 runs (with 15 fours) off Gloucestershire (then lying second in the table) in an innings of two hours and forty minutes; on this occasion he was assisted by Charlie Hallows in putting on 183 in 150 minutes, both men driving particularly well. Following on from his 1930 successes against Warwickshire Tyldesley came to the wicket at 87 for 1 and stayed until the score reached 361, having made 144 with 17 boundaries. It brought his total against the Midlands county to 445 runs between dismissals. Though the last half of June had seen him register over 500 runs it was not until Taunton in mid-July that he again stood out; his 69 out of an all out 180 provided the backbone of the Lancashire innings. Moving on to The Oval he found himself captain of his county for the first time, Peter Eckersley having pulled out with a severe cold; but the weather prevented even one innings being completed. Having won the toss and batted on a drying pitch, he saw his side tumble to 35 for 3; batting “in a determined and skilful fashion” ( Wisden ), he found a solid partner in Eddie Paynter and together the pair put on 85 before a two hour rain break interrupted their recovery. On the resumption Tyldesley hit his first ball into the hands of Barling at short-leg. Lancashire then moved on to the inaugural first-class match at Clacton where, last out, he made 116 out of the 198 scored during the three hours he was at the wicket. Despite this effort Lancashire went on to suffer their only innings defeat of the season. This looked a possibility in the August “Roses” match but again Paynter joined E.T. to deny the Yorkshire bowlers for two hours. 54