Ted Alletson
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Introduction
Edwin Boaler Alletson ("Ted Alletson") played County Cricket for Nottinghamshire in the early years of the 20th Century, and, unusually, is famous for just one innings.
Profile
Born in 1884, Alletson was a very big man, especially for his time, with an arm-span of 6ft 6inches.
Cricket career
Ted Alletson was predominantly picked by Nottinghamshire as a right-hand batsman. His career record shows a man who was, to be kind, no better than mediocre. In 179 innings, he passed 50 just 14 times, only converting one of those 50s to a century.
However, that century, made in 1911 and known as "Alletson's Innings" has become part of cricket folklore, ensuring Alletson's place in cricket history.
Sadly, Alletson never repeated his success and his career ended just 3 years later, at the onset of World War One, when he was 30.
Post-cricket
Alletson died in 1963, aged 79.
Alletson's Innings
On Saturday, May 20, 1911, Alletson's Nottinghamshire were playing Sussex.
Alletson came out to bat at number 9 in the order, with the score 258-8. His partner was soon out, leaving Notts 260-9 and facing imminent defeat.
The situation was so dire that, according to legend, his captain told him "I don't think it matters what you do." Alletson apparently replied "Then I'm not half going to give Killick [a Sussex bowler] some stick.".
Alletson was known for being a "blocker" (defensive player); yet he came out after lunch and smashed the Sussex bowlers to all points of the compass.
Killick did indeed get "some stick". Team-mates later revealed that as the innings developed, he was frightened to bowl at Alletson, in case Alletson clouted the ball back towards him.
In the days before professional cricketers played One Day Cricket, Alletson's hitting truly stood out.
The statistics of Alletson's Innings
- He scored 189
- He hit 8 sixes
- He scored his runs in just 90 minutes
- His post-lunch effort was 142 runs in just 40 minutes
- The 10th wicket stand was worth 152. Alletson scored 142 of these runs
Modern fans of cricket, who think more in terms of Overs than minutes will more readily digest these statistics:
- At one point, he hit 115 off seven overs
- He hit 34 off one particular over that included 2 no-balls (4,6,6,4,4,4,6)
Other oddities
The venom of his spectacular hitting is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that one of his shots destroyed the pavillion clock.
History also records that one hit "destroyed" the pavillion bar.
Alletson was rewarded for his achievement by the Duke of Portland, who awarded him a gold watch.
Alletson played this innings despite an injured wrist.