Ernest Tyldesley, the former Lancashire and England batsman and a member of the well-known Lancashire cricketing family, died at his home at Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales, on May 5, at the age of 73. Though never one of the giants of the game and rarely aspiring to brilliance of style, he established himself - especially during the 1920s-as one of the pillars of Lancashire cricket, so that his final total of runs and centuries in first-class cricket has remained unsurpassed by any Lancashire player.

He was born at Roe Green, Lancashire, on February 5, 1889, and as a boy benefited from the guidance and tuition of his elder brother, the great J. T. Tyldesley. Although he eventually scored more runs than his brother-indeed, at a better average, too - Ernest suffered somewhat by comparison with "J.T.", who had, of course, already performed heroically in the "Golden Age" before Ernest gained a regular place in county cricket. He made his debut for Lancashire in 1909 and progressed but modestly until the First World War, but on the resumption of cricket in 1919 he advanced to the head of the Lancashire averages and began to show that consistent reliability that was to characterise his many seasons in the game. Not always happy at the commencement of an innings, his patience and the soundness of his defence often brought their reward in big scores. Seven times he made a double-century for Lancashire and twice scored a hundred in each innings of a match. On six occasions - the last time in his forty-sixth year - he passed 2,000 runs in the season, and in 1928 he amassed 3,024 runs at an average of 79.57: that summer he hit ten centuries, which he had also done in 1926, no Lancastrian either before or since having twice achieved that target.

He played in fourteen Tests for England, in this country and in Australia and South Africa, hitting centuries at Johannesburg, Durban and Lord's: in fact, it was not often that he failed in Tests, scoring in all 990 runs at an average of 55. He twice toured South Africa, in 1924-25 and in 1927-28, both visits proving highly successful for him, the matting wickets emphasising what a highly resourceful and accomplished batsman he was. Following his great summer in 1928, he toured Australia with A. P. F. Chapman's talented side, but was chosen for only one Test. He also toured Jamaica with great success under the Hon. L. H. Tennyson in the spring of 1927.

Of the many batting feats that stand to his name, the most remarkable was his seven centuries in seven successive matches (four of them in consecutive innings) in 1926, when Lancashire regained the championship after twenty-two years. In 1928, when Lancashire were champions for the third successive year, he shared with F. Watson a partnership of 371 for the second wicket against Surrey at Old Trafford, which remains the highest stand ever made in first-class cricket on that ground and the record stand for any Lancashire wicket. When he retired in 1936 he had scored 38,874 runs at 45.46 and hit 102 centuries, the highest being 256 not out against Warwickshire at Old Trafford in 1930. He later served as a member of the Lancashire committee, and in 1949 was made a life member of the M.C.C. He had been ill for some considerable time before his, death and was blind.
The Cricketer

Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1920

• Ernest Tyldesley: illuminated the golden age of cricket (Jul 25, 2001)
  
• Ernest Tyldesley

Ernest Tyldesley © The Cricketer International

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