Arnold Ted Image 6 Worcestershire 1903

Description

Withycombe Raleigh, Devon born Ted Arnold played for England in ten Test Matches from 1903 to 1907, and most of his 343 first class matches were played for Worcestershire between their elevation to first class status in 1899 and 1913. His Wisden obituary described him as “an all-round cricketer of sterling merit”. His Cricinfo profile, meanwhile, declares that “More than any other player, Arnold was responsible for the elevation of Worcestershire to first class status.” With his eighteen hundreds and well over 1,000 wickets in the County Championship, “his adopted county [… could] take on any opponent”.

Arnold bowled at upwards of medium pace, with variations, and seamed the ball consistently. He took full toll and advantage of his physical stature, bowling with an upright action and, like Bill Bowes, obtaining considerable lift off the wicket. This was an especially effective ploy on wickets afflicted by rain. He swung the ball substantially, especially away from the bat.

As a batsman, Arnold had a strong command over almost every stroke in the book – most of them he played with considerable power – and an impressively dense defence. He was a fine slip fieldsman with a safe pair of hands. A tough cricketer, he was the only batsman who put up a fight when his team fell for a dismal 43 against Yorkshire in 1900. 1902 was the first of four consecutive seasons in which he performed the double feat of scoring 1,000 runs and taking 100 wickets. His best year was 1903, when he made 1,157 runs and took 143 wickets.

He was a member of three Test series-winning England teams, the most noteworthy of which came under the captaincy of Plum Warner in 1903-04, a series he kicked off with the removal of openers Reggie Duff and Victor Trumper before the score had reached double figures. He also contributed a great deal to the Fourth Test victory: although dismissed for a pair, he took four wickets in the first innings and dismissed Trumper twice. England recovered the Ashes for the first time since Australia’s victory in 1896. Altogether in those Tests Arnold took 18 wickets at 26.38 runs a piece. In February 1904 Arnold took four wickets for 8 runs, he shared with Rhodes, five wickets for 6 runs, in the dismissal of Victoria for 15, the smallest score on record in first class Australian cricket.

In 1905, when England under F. S. Jackson, Arnold appeared in four of the Test matches in a series which proved triumphant for England. In 1907, Arnold took part in the first Test match at Lord’s against South Africa and claimed five wickets for 37 in the first innings, but he failed when the visitors followed on, and was ineffective at Headingley, which proved his final Test match.

For Worcestershire he made 18 centuries, the highest 200 not out against Warwickshire at Birmingham in 1909. In that match at Edgbaston he and W.B. Burns added 393, a fifth wicket record in English cricket which stood for many years. Altogether in first class cricket Arnold scored 15,583 runs, at an average of 29.91, with 24 centuries and 76 half centuries, and took 1,069 wickets at an average cost of 23.16, with 13 ten wicket matches and 63 five wicket innings. He also took 187 catches.

His nephews John Price and William Price both had brief first class careers with Worcestershire.