Old_Cliftonian_Mag_2011

The following year sees him mentioned
in various rugby matches although his
brother was clearly the star in this sport,
captaining the College team.
The 1868 cricket report is rather
fuller than its predecessor, and just
as well since Tylecote’s great batting
achievement might have slipped quietly
into one of the darker corners of history.
Only two “foreign” matches were
played, with Tylecote scoring 37 and
131, but the published table of averages
shows just how prolific a season he had
enjoyed. The report for the season
describes him as
Captain for 1868. A splendid bat, has a
wonderful defence, and punishes severely
all round; his fine wrist play gets him
runs against the best bowling; made the
unprecedented score of 404 (not out) for the
Classical v Modern. As an all round field
he has few equals, and if there is one place
in which he excels more than another, it is
point. A fair wicket-keeper and good slow
underhand bowler, but has fallen off in his
round-arm bowling; (has left).
100. Only two batsmen reached double
figures one of whom, JA Bush, would
go on to be a wicket-keeper of some
note. By the close of play on the first
day, Classical were about 50 for 1 with
Tylecote on 34, these matches usually
being given three days for completion.
Play resumed on the Monday afternoon
andTylecote began to score at a fairly
rapid rate. By the time his overnight
partner, Cross, had been caught for 30,
Tylecote had made a hundred. In an
attempt to stem the flow, Modern’s most
talented cricketer, Bush, abandoned
his gloves and took on bowling, taking
several wickets as a result, but Tylecote
carried on serenely being on 199 not
out out of a total of 340 for 5 when the
Chapel bell signalled the close of play at
5.30pm. The following day saw Tylecote
continue much in the same mode. By the
time Classical had lost its seventh wicket
at 533, Tylecote had made cricket’s first
triple century, eventually reaching 404
out of 630 for 9 on the third day. The
match was thus declared a draw – in
No-one knows whether or not, unlike
AEJ Collins’ some years later, his innings
was chanceless but he scored only one
boundary, a prodigious hit into College
Road for, in those days, boundaries were
rare and all runs had to be, literally,
run; his scoring strokes were thus 1x7,
5x5, 21x4, 39x3, 42x2 and 87 singles.
Although he was obviously a very
talented cricketer, he must also have been
extremely fit and must have possessed
considerable powers of concentration.
The impact of this extraordinary score
on the cricket world was immense for
such scores were quite simply not made
in the game as it then was. Thirty-eight
years earlier, William Ward had made
278, and Alfred Adams had surpassed
this with 279 in a match in 1837, but a
triple, let alone a quadruple, century
was considered beyond the abilities
of mere humans. Tylecote’s score
was achieved in a match between the
Classical and the Modern sides on the
Close at Clifton and in no way should
this be interpreted as being a match
of inferior quality since the majority
of school matches at this time were
internal and were considered to be of
far greater importance than “foreign”
matches against other clubs or schools.
The Modern (ie., more technically
educated, aiming at Woolwich rather
than at Oxbridge) batted first and made
those days the device of declaring was
just not available – but two records had
been established in the world of cricket,
the highest score by an individual and
the highest score by a team.
In later life, he became more known for
his specialist wicket-keeping skills which
he had developed at Oxford, although
he did make 100 not out against
Australia in 1882. He went on to be a
Mathematics teacher at RMA Woolwich
and then at various Preparatory Schools
before retiring to Norfolk where he died
at the age of 89 in 1938.
The cricketing world has long forgotten
those June days some 148 years ago but
we can continue to take some interest in
today’s game not least for the fact that
every time an Australian or an English
cricket captain holds that little urn aloft,
there is a little bit of Clifton history there
for all to see.
RJA
30 the CLIFTON MAGAZINE 2011