Walter Read's 117 — Furious No. 10's Test Hundred, 1884

Walter Read had been a Surrey first-class cricketer since 1873 and one of the leading amateur batsmen in England by 1884. The conventions of Victorian cricket placed amateurs in the upper order regardless of form; Lord Harris's decision to drop Read to 10 was unusual.

Murdoch had made his 211 (a Test record at the time). Australia 551. England had reached 181/8 with little hope of saving the follow-on. Lord Harris's order was a public puzzle. Read came out smouldering.

England had collapsed to 181 for 8 in reply to Australia's 551. Lord Harris's batting order — driven by a mix of strategy, pique and Victorian protocol — had sent in Walter Read at number 10, behind several professional bowlers. Read was furious. Watching from the dressing room, he muttered loudly enough for teammates to hear that he would 'show them.'

He walked out and proceeded to take the Australian attack apart. Spofforth, Palmer, Giffen, Boyle — all were driven, cut and pulled. Read's hundred came in 87 minutes, his 117 in 113. At the other end William Scotton, the Nottinghamshire opener, batted with monastic calm; he was 90 not out at the close of England's innings, having taken 340 minutes for the runs. The pair added 151 for the ninth wicket — a record stand that stood for decades.

England reached 346, still 205 behind, and saved the match in the second innings (85 for 2). Read's 117 remains the only century by a number 10 in Test history; the closest later effort was Pat Symcox's 108 for South Africa in 1998, also at number 10.

The innings is remembered both for its brilliance and for its origin in dressing-room politics. Read, a Surrey amateur of considerable status, did not take well to the implication that he was a tail-end batsman. The 117 was both a Test rescue and an act of personal vindication.

“I'll show them.”

“The way in which he punished Spofforth, Palmer, Giffen, and Boyle can never be forgotten by anyone who was so fortunate as to be present.”

Read's century shamed Lord Harris into restoring him to the upper order. Read went on to captain England in 1887-88, score over 6,000 runs in Tests for England in his career, and become one of the leading administrators at Surrey. He died in 1907.

Scotton's 90 — and the 340 minutes it took — became a byword for dour Victorian batting. Punch published a satirical poem about it.