Archie MacLaren becomes the first-ever batsman to score a quadruple hundred in First-Class cricket

On July 16, 1895 Archie MacLaren scored the first-ever quadruple-hundred [424] in First-Class cricket — against Somerset at Taunton. Abhishek Mukherjee looks back at the innings that remained the highest individual score on English soil for 99 years.

The scholarly and multi-talented CB Fry once said: “Archie MacLaren (above, circa 1910) lifted his bat round his neck like a golfer at the top of his swing. He stood bolt upright and swept into every stroke, even a defensive backstroke, with dominating completeness.” © Getty Images

On July 16, 1895 Archie MacLaren scored the first-ever quadruple-hundred [424] in First-Class cricket — against Somerset at Taunton. Abhishek Mukherjee looks back at the innings that remained the highest individual score on English soil for 99 years.

When Archie MacLaren passed away in 1944, The Times wrote that he was “one of the outstanding opening batsmen of all time” in his obituary. His Test career ended shortly after Jack Hobbs’ debut, and it’s amazing how fondly people remembered MacLaren even after they had witnessed Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe — definitely the greatest opening partnership of all time — followed by the advent of the record-breaker Len Hutton; and we aren’t even discussing the Australian openers here.

Gideon Haigh had mentioned that “If ever a cricketer was the creation of a single writer, it is [Archie] MacLaren, the luminous majesty with which he is associated owed in very large degree to his youthful acolyte Neville Cardus.” He even went to the extent of saying “Without [Neville] Cardus, in fact, [Archie] MacLaren might have faded altogether.”

MacLaren was Cardus’ childhood hero. And the illustrious author was extremely generous in his choice of words while describing MacLaren: “There never was a cricketer with more than the grandeur of AC MacLaren. When I think of his play now, years after it all happened, the emotions that stir in me afresh, and all my impressions of it, are mingled with emotions and impressions I have had from other and greater arts than bat and ball.”

Of course, Cardus was known to go a bit overboard with cricketers he preferred, which were usually men with a flair rather than effectiveness. On that day [July 16, 1895] in Taunton, however, he shone the way he seldom had in his long career: even Cardus would have hesitated to call the scoreboard a certain quadruped that day.
The build-up

MacLaren was facing financial difficulties in the 1895 season despite being named the Young Batsman of the Year that season by Wisden. Despite being the captain of Lancashire, MacLaren had to opt out after two matches to teach in a preparatory school in Harrow.

Lancashire wasn’t particularly successful in his absence, and he eventually returned to lead the side in the Somerset match at Taunton.
Day One: Somerset bowlers plundered

MacLaren won the toss on a flat track, decided to bat, and put the hosts to sword from the very onset. He brandished his bat with his all-too-familiar high back-lift, and even the good-length balls were dispatched for boundaries at will. As CB Fry had said: “He [MacLaren] lifted his bat round his neck like a golfer at the top of his swing. He stood bolt upright and swept into every stroke, even a defensive backstroke, with dominating completeness.”

When the bowler bounced MacLaren was never hesitant to hook. As a starry-eyed Cardus mentioned: “To see [Archie] MacLaren hook a fast ball… from the front of his face, was in those days an experience which thrilled me like heroic poetry; he didn’t merely hook the ball, he dismissed it from his presence.”

He added 141 for the first wicket with Arthur Ward before the latter fell for 64. The 23-year old MacLaren was then joined by the veteran Arthur Paul – and the real fun began. Maclaren easily passed his Championship best of 135 and the two soon brought up their 100-run partnership.

Lunch came and went, and so did tea, but there seemed to be no end to the clobbering from MacLaren and Paul. Both batsmen went past their respective First-Class best scores — MacLaren when he passed 228 and Paul when he passed 140. Then, towards the end of the day, Paul was eventually caught off the spin of Lionel Palairet after an unbelievable 363-run partnership from only 190 minutes. He had scored 177.

Palairet picked up another wicket before stumps and Lancashire finished Day One on 555 for three with MacLaren on 289 and Charles Benton on six.
Day Two: Grace bettered

MacLaren reached his triple-hundred shortly after play commenced on Day Two. He was all set to go past WG Grace’s record First-Class score of 344, scored for MCC against Kent at Canterbury in 1876.

He received support from Charles Benton who hung around as Grace’s score was overcome. The duo added 107: MacLaren was past 350. Where would he stop?

Frank Sugg came to the party after Benton’s dismissal. MacLaren looked set for the first quadruple-hundred ever in the history of the sport. Though Sugg fell after a 95-run partnership MacLaren carried on. He seemed tireless as the boundaries kept coming.

The 400 happened but MacLaren could not declare the innings closed because of the prevalent rules; he was eventually seventh out for 424 with the score on 792. He had batted for only 470 minutes and had hit 62 fours and a six.

The tail took their risks and Lancashire were soon bowled out for 801. Lionel Palairet (four for 133) was the only bowler who was not entirely mauled: three other bowlers (Ted Tyler, one for 212; Sammy Woods, two for 163; and Herbert Gamlin, two for 100) conceded more than a hundred runs while Gerald Fowler took one for 97.

A distraught, exasperated Somerset were then bowled out for 143 with Fowler top-scoring with 39. Fowler and Lionel Palairet had added 71 for the first wicket but the rest were no match for the class of Johnny Briggs and Arthur Mold. They shared eight wickets between themselves. MacLaren enforced the follow-on with his side 658 runs ahead.

Once again Somerset began well, this time opening with Tyler, the not out batsman of the first innings. Henry Stanley walked out at the fall of Lionel Palairet’s wicket and the day ended at 58 for one with Tyler on 38 and Stanley on 12.
Day Three: Briggs and Mold run through

Day Three did not make any difference to Somerset’s fortune as they were reduced to 83 for four by Briggs and Mold. Sammy Woods and Fowler then added 77, but once the partnership was broken Mold and Briggs ran through the rest of the line-up. They finished with five wickets apiece (picking up nine wickets each in the match) and Somerset were bowled out for 206. Lancashire won by an innings and 452 runs.
What followed

–          MacLaren topped the batting charts for that season with 1,162 runs at 58.10 with four hundreds. Despite missing out a few initial matches he ended up at the sixth position on the runs chart. In all First-Class cricket that season MacLaren scored 1,229 at 51.20 with four hundreds.

–          Lancashire came second in the Championship that season next to only Surrey. Bobby Abel’s bat and Tom Richardson’s ball led Surrey to the title.

–          MacLaren’s record remained till 1922-23 when Bill Ponsford hit a 429 playing against Tasmania.

–          MacLaren’s record for the highest score on English soil was beaten by one Brian Lara — 99 years after the epic 424.
Brief scores:

Lancashire 801 (Archie MacLaren 424, Arthur Paul 177, Albert Ward 64, Charles Benton 43, Frank Sugg 41; Lionel Palairet 4 for 133) beat Somerset 143 (Johnny Briggs 4 for 59, Arthur Mold 4 for 75) and 206 (Sammy Woods 55, Gerald Fowler 46, Ted Tyler 41; Arthur Mold 5 for 76, Johnny Briggs 5 for 78) by an innings and 452 runs.

(Abhishek Mukherjee is a cricket historian and Senior Cricket Writer at CricketCountry. He generally looks upon life as a journey involving two components – cricket and literature – though not as disjoint elements. A passionate follower of the history of the sport with an insatiable appetite for trivia and anecdotes, he has also a steady love affair with the incredible assortment of numbers that cricket has to offer. He also thinks he can bowl decent leg-breaks in street cricket, and blogs at http://ovshake.blogspot.in. He can be followed on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ovshake and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ovshake42.)