An upset at Headingley

posted by John Winn

Yorkshire followers need no reminding that the county has had periods of supremacy when they have dominated the county championship with the thirties and sixties being the most commonly quoted eras. Looking further back however  the White Rose finished top of the pile six times between 1896 and 1905 including a hat trick of wins from 1900 to 1902. During those three seasons  they lost only two matches, both to Somerset,  the more talked about of which was that at Headingley in August 1901.

Prior to that 1901 game Yorkshire had not lost since an encounter with Kent almost two years before when they went down by 8 wickets at The Angel Ground, Tonbridge a ground used by Kent until 1939. In his history of Somerset CCC the late Peter Roebuck devotes several pages to a description of the Headingley match, a match described by Wisden as 'the most sensational ..of the whole season' and 'For days afterwards cricketers talked of nothing else'.

On the first morning, July 15th both Somerset openers, Palairet and Braund went for ducks and with only Woods making a respectable score they were bowled out for 87. Yorkshire's reply did not begin well but normality was restored by the tail who took the score from 86 for 6 to 325 all out. a lead of 228. Both innings were completed at stumps on the first day and those who paid their shillings on Tuesday morning might well have expected to be home in time for tea. What they could not have anticipated was that at close of play the visitors would be 549 for 5 with this time both openers having reached three figures. Yorkshire supporters might have thought their team a little hard done by for they believed that Braund should have been given out caught at slip when on 55 but the umpire's view was obscured by the bowler and Braund batted on to score a further 52 runs. The catcher, Tunnicliffe, insisted to his dying day that it was a fair catch.

Somerset were bowled out for 630 on the third morning after which in Wisden's words 'the Yorkshiremen collapsed very badly.' Batting a man short, Taylor absent hurt, they scraped together only 113 with Tunnicliffe top scoring  with 44 and as if Braund hadn't done enough he picked up four wickets as the last seven Yorkshire wickets fell for 22 runs. Roebuck describes the pitch as wearying, I'm sure it was.

This shock to the system seems to have carried over to Yorkshire's next game when they entertained Warwickshire at Bradford. Asked to follow on they were 23 for 2 with Tunnicliffe and Denton dismissed but Brown and Mitchell then added 258 'being still together when stumps were pulled'. Normal service was then resumed with a crunching victory two day victory over Notts at Bramall Lane. It was to be June of the following year before the bitter taste of defeat passed Yorkshire's lips again when they lost a very low scoring match to Somerset at Bramall Lane. Braund had another field day, top scoring in both innings and taking fifteen wickets, 9 for 41 in the second innings. One of my favourite writers Harrogate born AA Thompson records that for years afterwards misbehaving Yorkshire infants were told by their mothers 'You 'oosh or Len Braund will come and get you'
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The successful Somerset team at Headingley