On 14 July 1859 the Nottinghamshire captain George Parr — the 'Lion of the North' and Clarke's heir as captain of the All-England Eleven — scored 130 against Surrey at the Oval. It was the only first-class century of his career, and a public confirmation that he was now the leading professional batsman in England, the man widely held to be the best cricketer in the world in his prime.
Parr had succeeded Clarke as AEE captain in late 1856 and as Notts captain from the same season. The 1859 season was the high point of his playing career: leading run-scorer in several fixtures and at the height of his powers as a leg-hitter.
Notts and Surrey were the two leading counties of the late 1850s. The fixture at the Oval was always heavily attended. The 1859 match drew an especially big crowd partly because Parr was due shortly to lead the tour to America.
George Parr was born at Radcliffe-on-Trent in May 1826 and grew up at Trent Bridge under Clarke's tutelage. By the late 1840s he was the leading leg-side hitter in England — his colleague William Caffyn described his method as reaching out with the left leg straight down the wicket, the knee bent, and sweeping the ball round in a half-circle. He was acclaimed by Wisden retrospectives as 'the only Nottinghamshire player of whom it could be justly claimed that he was in his day the Greatest Batsman in the World'. The 14 July 1859 innings of 130 against Surrey at the Oval was his only first-class century — first-class scoring of three figures was rare on the pitches of the day, and Parr's average run-making was based on consistency at fifty or sixty rather than centuries. The innings was made on a hot summer's day in front of a large crowd that had come specifically to watch him; reporters noted his trademark leg-side hitting in particular. Two months later Parr would lead the first English overseas tour to North America. The 130 also helped establish that, with Clarke dead, the AEE under Parr was a stronger and more popular outfit than ever.
14 Jul 1859: Notts begin innings at the Oval
Parr opens scoring with characteristic leg-side hitting
Parr passes fifty before lunch
Parr passes 100 — his only first-class century
Parr finishes on 130 in front of a large crowd
Sep 1859: Parr leads twelve professionals to North America
May 1826
Parr born at Radcliffe-on-Trent
1856
Succeeds Clarke as AEE captain
14 Jul 1859
130 against Surrey at the Oval — only first-class century
Sep 1859
Leads first English overseas tour, to North America
1870
Retires from playing
1891
Parr dies; a branch of the Trent Bridge elm placed on his coffin
“As a leg-hitter Parr will always be best known. His method was to reach out with the left leg straight down the wicket, bending the knee, and to sweep the ball round in a sort of half-circle.”
The 130 helped to establish Parr's standing in the eyes of those who would buy tickets for the North America tour two months later. He continued as Notts and AEE captain through the 1860s, retiring as a player in 1870. By the time he died in 1891, the elm tree at Trent Bridge that he habitually hit for six was already known as Parr's Tree.
The only century in Parr's career and the public seal of his standing as the best batsman in England in the late 1850s.
Parr's 130 is the only first-class century in the career of a man widely rated the best batsman in the world in the late 1850s — a reminder that the scoring conventions of the era were very different from those of the W.G. Grace age that immediately followed. The leg-hitting that produced the innings is the action that Parr's Tree at Trent Bridge commemorates.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.