On 25-26 March 1889 at Newlands, Lancashire's Johnny Briggs took 7 for 17 and 8 for 11 against South Africa — match figures of 15 for 28, of which 14 were bowled and one lbw. It set a new Test record for match wickets that lasted until SF Barnes in 1913, and remains one of the most economical 15-wicket hauls in any form of cricket.
Briggs, a Sutton-in-Ashfield man who played for Lancashire, was the leading left-arm spinner in England by the late 1880s. He had taken 100 wickets in 1887 for the first time and was at the peak of his powers when the Warton tour reached South Africa.
England had won the first Test at Port Elizabeth by 8 wickets. The Newlands pitch, a matting wicket as standard for the period, suited spin bowling once the surface began to take turn.
The second Test of the Warton tour was played on a coir matting wicket at Newlands. South Africa, captained by Aubrey Smith for England's side and Bernard Tancred opening for South Africa, won the toss and chose to bat. They were dismissed for 47, with Briggs taking 7 for 17 in 14.2 overs of left-arm spin.
England replied with 292, Bobby Abel making 120. South Africa, set 290 to avoid an innings defeat, lasted only 14 overs. Briggs took 8 for 11, all clean bowled — fourteen wickets bowled, one (Albert Innes) lbw. South Africa 43 all out; England won by an innings and 202 runs.
Briggs' figures of 15 for 28 in 28.2 overs broke the world Test record set by Spofforth (14/90) at the same Oval in 1882. They stood until SF Barnes took 17 for 159 against South Africa at Johannesburg in 1913. The fourteen-bowled detail makes Briggs' analysis perhaps the cleanest 15-wicket Test return ever recorded.
Bernard Tancred carried his bat for 26 in South Africa's second innings — the first man in Test cricket history to do so. The match also remains South Africa's heaviest Test defeat by margin of innings runs at home.
South Africa 47 first innings; Briggs 7/17 in 14.2 overs.
England 292 (Abel 120).
Bernard Tancred opens and is 26 not out, carrying his bat — Test first.
South Africa 43 all out second innings; Briggs 8/11.
Of 15 wickets, 14 bowled, 1 lbw.
Match figures 15 for 28 — Test record until 1913.
England win by an innings and 202 runs.
25 Mar 1889
South Africa 47; Briggs 7/17.
25 Mar evening
England 292; Abel 120.
26 Mar
South Africa 43; Briggs 8/11; England win by innings and 202.
“He needed just 14 overs to dispense of the South Africans, all eight of his second-innings victims bowled.”
Briggs would tour England's outposts repeatedly over the following decade. In June 1899, while playing a Test at Headingley against Australia, he had a fit during the night and was committed to Cheadle Asylum, near Manchester. He was diagnosed with epilepsy and died in 1902 aged 39, while still institutionalised.
Bernard Tancred's carry-the-bat record was the first of three South African Test bat-carrying innings; he was followed by Jackie McGlew, Bill Lawry's 1969 effort and others. Tancred's 26 remains the lowest bat-carry total in Test history.
A pure spin-bowler's masterclass — Briggs' 15 for 28 with 14 bowled is one of the most ruthlessly efficient match analyses in Test history.
Briggs' 15 for 28 stood as the world Test record for 24 years and is still the second-best match analysis in any Test by an England bowler against South Africa. The fourteen-bowled detail makes it a textbook of spin-bowling efficiency on matting; modern bowlers cite it in coaching manuals.
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.