Ted Alletson
| Personal information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batting style | Right-handed batsman | |||
| Bowling style | n/a | |||
| International information | ||||
| National side | English | |||
| Career statistics | ||||
| Competition | First-class | |||
| Matches | 119 | |||
| Runs scored | 3217 | |||
| Batting average | 18.59 | |||
| 100s/50s | 1/13 | |||
| Top score | 189 | |||
| Balls bowled | 1253 | |||
| Wickets | 33 | |||
| Bowling average | 19.03 | |||
| 5 wickets in innings | 1 | |||
| 10 wickets in match | 0 | |||
| Best bowling | 6/74 | |||
| Catches/stumpings | 74/0 | |||
| Source: CricInfo, | ||||
Edwin Boaler (Ted) Alletson, (March 6, 1884 in Welbeck – July 5, 1963 in Worksop), played English county cricket for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club during the early years of the 20th Century. He was predominantly selected by Nottinghamshire as a right-handed batsman and a not-very-successful fast bowler and, with one exception, his career was unspectacular. Over the 179 innings of his career, he passed 50 runs only 14 times, and converted just one of those 50s to a century.
Alletson secured his place in cricket history with one record-breaking innings played against Sussex County Cricket Club in May 1911. The innings rescued the game for Nottinghamshire and became known as Alletson's Innings. He never repeated this success and his career ended three years later, aged 30, when cricket was suspended at the onset of World War I. He died in 1963, aged 79.
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[edit] Alletson's Innings
On Saturday, May 20, 1911, Alletson's Nottinghamshire were playing Sussex at Hove. Nottinghamshire were facing defeat when Alletson, a tailender, came out to bat at number nine in the order, with the score 185-7. The eighth wicket fell at 258 and the ninth soon followed, leaving Nottinghamshire 260-9 and facing imminent defeat.
The teams came in for the lunch interval, and Alletson asked his captain for advice on how to play after the resumption. On being told "I don't think it matters what you do.", Alletson replied "Then I'm not half going to give Killick [a Sussex bowler] some stick.".
Alletson was known for being a "blocker", but after lunch, he did indeed give both Killick, and the other Sussex bowlers "some stick". In a remarkable spell of sustained hitting, Alletson broke the world record for runs scored off a single over, by hitting Killick for 34.
His hitting was venomous, one of his shots smashing the pavilion clock, and another "destroying" the pavilion bar.Team-mates later revealed that as the innings developed, Killick was frightened to bowl at Alletson, in case Alletson clouted the ball back towards him, on his way to a career-best 189.
Alletson was dismissed amid speculation followed that the fielder who caught him was actually over the boundary rope. According to the Laws of cricket, this should have meant six runs to the batsman, rather than his dismissal. Alletson had saved the match for his side - it ended in a draw, with Sussex, who needed 237 to win, making 213 for 8.
Alletson was rewarded for his achievement by the then Duke of Portland, who awarded him a gold watch. It was later revealed that Alletson played this explosive innings despite an injured wrist.
[edit] Statistical summary
In the days before professional cricketers played one day cricket and modern power-bat technology evolved, Alletson's ferocious hitting truly stood out:
- He scored 189 runs in just 90 minutes;
- He hit 8 sixes;
- His post-lunch effort was 142 runs in just 40 minutes;
- The 10th wicket stand was worth 152. Alletson scored 142 of these runs.
- At one point, he hit 115 off seven overs
- He hit 34 off one over that included two no-balls (4,6,6,0,4,4,4,6).
Alletson's 34 in an over was a new world record for first-class cricket, a record that lasted 57 years until broken by Sir Garry Sobers.
[edit] References
- Arlott, John (1991). Alletson's Innings. ISBN 0-947821-04-X.
- "Edwin Boaler Alletson's great innings". cricinfo.com. 17 October 1994. http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/ARTICLES/PLAYERS/ALLETSON_GREAT_INNS. Retrieved 25 May 2006.
- "Most Runs off one over". cricinfo.com. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/STATS/FC/BATTING/MOST_RUNS_OFF_6_BALL_OVER.html. Retrieved 25 May 2006.
- "Ted Alletson". cricinfo.com. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/8718.html. Retrieved 13 March 2008.
