On 4 February 1932 Tim Wall took 10 for 36 in 12.4 overs against New South Wales at the SCG, one of only a handful of first-class instances of all ten wickets in Australia and the only one in the history of the Sheffield Shield. The figures, achieved on a damaged pitch, remain a record in the competition.
Wall, a 27-year-old fast-medium bowler from South Australia, opened the bowling on the third morning after rain had affected the pitch overnight. New South Wales had to bat last on a wearing surface; Wall's first ball had Wendell Bill caught behind, and he never let the line go.
His spell — 12.4 overs, two maidens, 36 runs, 10 wickets — accounted for both openers, included Bradman caught for a duck and finished off the tail with bowled and lbw decisions. He bowled four batsmen, had three caught behind by Charlie Walker and trapped two more in the cordon. New South Wales were dismissed for 113.
The figures bettered Hugh Trumble's 9 for 39 (1903) and have not been matched in Sheffield Shield cricket since.
Rain damages pitch overnight.
Wall opens bowling on day three; first ball Wendell Bill caught behind.
Bradman bowled cheaply.
Four bowled, three caught behind, two more caught.
12.4 overs, 36 runs, 10 wickets.
NSW all out 113.
2 Feb 1932
Match begins at SCG; SA bat first.
3 Feb evening
Rain falls overnight.
4 Feb morning
Wall opens bowling; takes nine before lunch.
4 Feb afternoon
Final wicket; figures 10-36.
“The ball did just enough.”
The lone all-ten haul in Sheffield Shield history and one of the most astonishing single spells of inter-war Australian first-class cricket.
The 10 for 36 is the only entry in Sheffield Shield's 'all-ten' record column, often used as the defining bowling feat of pre-war Australian first-class cricket.
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.