On 24-26 July 1820 at Lord's, the MCC banker-amateur William Ward scored 278 against Norfolk — the first double-hundred in important cricket and the highest individual score yet recorded anywhere in the world. Ward batted into the third day for an MCC total of 473, with Lord Frederick Beauclerk supporting him with 82 not out. The score stood as cricket's individual record for 56 years until W.G. Grace passed it in 1876.
By 1820 cricket scoring was still low. Most innings totals were under 200 and individual scores over 100 were rare. Ward's reputation rested on technical correctness and stamina rather than aggressive hitting; he was the natural batsman to break the records of the period.
The MCC v Norfolk fixture was a regular early-summer match at Lord's. Norfolk had a respectable side built around the rising young Fuller Pilch, but their bowling was no match for the combined batting of Ward and Beauclerk on a docile Lord's pitch.
William Ward, born in Hampshire in 1787, was a director of the Bank of England, MP for the City of London, and the leading amateur batsman of the 1820s. On 24 July 1820, opening for MCC against a Norfolk side at Lord's, he played the longest, biggest innings the cricket world had yet seen. He went in on the first morning and was still there on the third day when he was finally out for 278, having batted across some 22 hours of playing time. The MCC innings totalled 473 — itself a record team total — with only Beauclerk (82 not out) offering significant support; nobody else reached 40. Norfolk replied with 92 and were beaten by 417 runs. The scorecard survived the 1825 pavilion fire because copies had circulated among the press; the ball used in the innings is preserved in the MCC museum and is reckoned the oldest cricket ball still in existence. Ward's 278 was nearly twice the previous record (James Aylward's 167 for Hampshire in 1777) and remained the highest first-class score until W.G. Grace made 344 for MCC against Kent at Canterbury on 11-12 August 1876. The same Ward would, five years later, save Lord's itself by buying out Thomas Lord for £5,000.
24 Jul 1820: Match begins at Lord's; Ward opens for MCC
Ward bats through day one and into day two
Beauclerk joins him and contributes 82 not out
Ward continues into day three before being dismissed for 278
MCC total: 473 all out
Norfolk reply with 92 in their first innings
MCC win by 417 runs
Ward's 278 stands as a world record for 56 years
11 Aug 1876: W.G. Grace passes the record with 344 at Canterbury
24 Jul 1820
Match begins at Lord's; Ward opens
25 Jul 1820
Ward bats through day two
26 Jul 1820
Ward out for 278; MCC 473 all out
1825
Ward buys Lord's for £5,000
1876
W.G. Grace breaks the record with 344
Ward's score made him the most famous amateur batsman in England and was the foundation of his subsequent role as the saviour and proprietor of Lord's from 1825 to 1835. His public stature combined banking, politics and cricket in a way that gave the MCC its informal head of state for the next decade.
The first double-hundred and a record that stood for 56 years — the innings that established cricket's appetite for big individual scores.
The 278 is the first cricket score to enter the popular memory as a record. The ball, displayed at Lord's, is the oldest cricket relic of its kind. Every subsequent big individual score — Grace's 344, Murdoch's 321, Hayward's 315 not out and on into the modern triple-hundreds — descends from this innings as the original benchmark.
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.