Ted Alletson.html



Ted Alletson England (Eng)
Batting style	Right-handed batsman
Bowling type	n/a
First-class record
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
First class debut: May 24, 1906 Last first class game: May 26, 1914 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, 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 3 years later, aged 30, at the onset of World War I. He died in 1963, aged 79.

Alletson's Innings

On Saturday, May 20, 1911, Alletson's Nottinghamshire were playing Sussex at Hove.

Alletson came out to bat at number 9 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 situation was so dire that, according to legend, his captain told him "I don't think it matters what you do." Alletson apparently replied "Then I'm not half going to give Killick [a Sussex bowler] some stick.".

Alletson was known for being a "blocker" (defensive player); yet he came out after lunch and smashed the Sussex bowlers to all points of the compass.

Killick did indeed get "some stick". Alletson broke the world record for runs scored off a single over, by hitting Killick for 34 (see below). 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.

In the days before professional cricketers played one day cricket, Alletson's ferocious hitting truly stood out:

• He scored 189
• He hit 8 sixes
• He scored his runs in just 90 minutes
• His post-lunch effort was 142 runs in just 40 minutes
• The 10th wicket stand was worth 152. Alletson scored 142 of these runs

Modern fans of cricket, who think more in terms of overs than minutes will more readily digest these statistics:

• At one point, he hit 115 off seven overs
• He hit 34 off one over that included 2 no-balls (4,6,6,0,4,4,4,6). At the time, that was a world record for first-class cricket, a record that lasted 57 years until famously broken by Sir Garry Sobers.

The venom of his hitting is perhaps best illustrated by one of his shots smashing the pavilion clock, and another "destroying" the pavilion bar.

Alletson was rewarded for his achievement by the then Duke of Portland, who awarded him a gold watch.

Alletson played this explosive innings despite an injured wrist.

Alletson was dismissed for 189 and 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.

References

• Arlott, John (1991). Alletson's Innings. ISBN 0-947821-04-X. 
• "Edwin Boaler Alletson's great innings". cricinfo.com (17 October 1994). Retrieved on 25 May, 2006.
• "Most Runs off one over". cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 25 May, 2006.
• "Ted Alletson". cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 13 March, 2008.

External links

• Image of scorebook showing Alletson's Innings