A teenage cricketer has shown England’s bowlers how to do it after taking ten wickets for just two runs.
Swing bowler Tommy Stewart, 13, achieved the once-in-a-lifetime feat during an Under 14s school game.
His team, from Sexey’s School in Bruton, Somerset, was set the task of preventing The Gryphon School from hitting a modest target of 104.
But the batsmen had no answer for the “Mini Jimmy Anderson”, which saw him take all ten wickets.
Tommy, from Yeovil, clean bowled the first four batsmen, then took a caught and bowled before bowling the remaining five batsmen.
On two occasions he found himself on a hat-trick and finished with bowling figures of five overs, three maidens, two runs, ten wickets (5-3-2-10).
Incredibly, the only runs taken off Tommy were ‘extras’ after the youngster bowled two wides.
Gryphon School were all out for just 24 – helping Sexey’s to a comprehensive 79 run against their local rivals.
Tommy, who plays for Dorset B at youth level, had also performed well with the bat, top scoring with 23.
The youngster said: “I was disappointed to have got out to a poor shot when I batted and (teacher) Mr Balch told me to channel my frustration into my bowling.
“I was just trying to bowl in good areas but the ball was swinging a bit and the wickets just kept falling.
“I think I’m the first Sexey’s player ever to take ten wickets and I’m very proud of that.”
Tommy was playing for the year above when his star performance lead Sexey’s to victory.
Tom Balch, head of cricket at Sexey’s, said: “That has got to be probably the best bowling analysis ever in the history of the game anywhere in the world.
“You couldn’t have figures much better than that.”
There are no official records for bowling at this level of the sport, but in first class cricket there have only been 80 instances where a bowler has taken all ten wickets in an innings.
The best figures belong to Yorkshire’s Hedley Verity, who finished with 10-10 in 1938.
In the Fourth Test of the 1956 Ashes series, England spinner Jim Laker finished with match figures of 19-90.
Irfan Latif, headmaster at Sexey’s, said, “We are proud of our cricketing heritage at Sexey’s, from the honours boards in our School Pavilion to the numerous schools we play on the tough South West cricketing circuit.
“Tommy Stewart’s stunning achievement last week of taking 10-2 against The Gryphon breaks all school records and possibly a few national and international ones at schoolboy level.
“It is testimony to his hard work and sheer dedication to the sport as well as that of the cricketing staff here at Sexey’s.”
Allen Boyd, director of sport, added: “Full credit to Tommy for a truly outstanding performance, the like of which I will never see again in my lifetime.
“Tommy works hard at his cricket but to take ten wickets for just two runs is beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. He’s earnt the match ball for sure.”
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