Before Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst rolled Australia for 36 at Edgbaston on 29 May 1902, the day's foundation had been laid by Johnny Tyldesley's 138 in four and a half hours — an innings that took England to 376 for 9 declared. Tyldesley, the Lancashire professional, was at the height of his powers; the innings is sometimes overlooked because of what followed in the afternoon.
Tyldesley made his Lancashire debut in 1895 and played for the county until 1923. He was the leading professional batsman of the era before Jack Hobbs, the elder brother of Ernest Tyldesley (who would also play for Lancashire and England). He represented England under Stoddart's 1898-99 South Africa tour and had two centuries in those Tests.
The Edgbaston pitch in May 1902 was tricky; few batsmen on either side made runs in the match.
MacLaren brought Tyldesley back to the side after Stoddart's 1899 tour of Australia, where he had failed. The 1902 Ashes Test at Edgbaston was Tyldesley's chance to establish himself in home Tests.
John Thomas Tyldesley, born in Worsley, Lancashire, in 1873, was the principal English professional batsman of the early 1900s. By 1902 he had played four Tests with two centuries (in South Africa); the 1902 Ashes Test at Edgbaston was his first century in England-Australia cricket and the highest score of the series.
MacLaren won the toss in difficult conditions — overnight rain had left the pitch slow and tacky. Tyldesley came to the wicket at 35 for 2 and began to play one of the great innings of his career. He drove Trumble straight, cut Saunders square, and hooked Noble. By tea he had reached 100 in two and a half hours; he went on to 138 in four and a half hours, with 17 fours, before being last out. England declared at 376 for 9.
The innings is sometimes overlooked because of the dramatic Australian collapse to 36 that followed. But Tyldesley's batting was the foundation of the day; without it, the lead would not have been large enough to make the 36 a story. Wisden in 1903 described the innings as 'a model of attractive yet reliable run-getting'. Tyldesley played 31 Tests in all, scoring 1,661 runs at 30.75 with four centuries; he made over 37,000 first-class runs at 40.66 with 86 hundreds.
MacLaren wins the toss on a damp pitch.
England 35/2 when Tyldesley comes in.
Tyldesley reaches 100 in two and a half hours.
Drives Trumble straight; hooks Noble; cuts Saunders.
138 in four and a half hours, 17 fours.
Last out at 376/9 declared.
Australia 36 in 90 minutes (Rhodes 7/17, Hirst 3/15).
Match drawn after rain washes out two days.
22 Nov 1873
Tyldesley born at Worsley, Lancashire.
1895
First-class debut for Lancashire.
1898-99
Test debut on Lord Hawke's South Africa tour.
29 May 1902
138 v Australia at Edgbaston.
1902
Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
1903-04, 1905
Part of England Ashes-winning sides.
1923
Last first-class match aged 49.
27 Nov 1930
Dies in Manchester aged 57.
“A model of attractive yet reliable run-getting.”
“The great professional, the great Lancastrian.”
Tyldesley played in all five Tests of the 1902 series, scoring 245 runs at 30.62. He went on to play in the Ashes-winning series of 1903-04 and 1905. He was Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1902 (for his 1901 season).
He continued to score heavily for Lancashire through the Edwardian summers and was still playing first-class cricket aged 49 in 1923.
An innings of professional excellence eclipsed by the events that followed it. Tyldesley's 138 should be remembered alongside the Rhodes 7-for-17, but the Australian collapse has dominated retellings of the day for over 120 years.
Tyldesley's reputation has had to compete with the more romantic figures of his era — Trumper, Ranji, Fry — but the statistical record places him alongside them. His Test career was relatively short (31 matches) but his county output (86 first-class hundreds, including the 1906 record-breaking season in which he scored 1,977 runs) marks him out.
Neville Cardus, who began his cricket-watching at Old Trafford in the early 1900s, called Tyldesley 'the great professional, the great Lancastrian'. He died in 1930 aged 57.
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.