On this day: Birth of the cricketer to score first century at Lord’s
Scoring a century at the Lord’s is a dream for any batsman but the memorable feat was not possible for many greats of the game irrespective of the format. The first-ever Test match at the Lord’s was hosted seven years and 14 matches after the Test debut in 1877. Lord’s made its Test debut in 1884 during the 2nd game of the 3-match Ashes series. That very match witnessed a player scoring a hundred which came from the bat of Allan Gibson Steel of the home team.
The hundred
Australia, who elected to bat first, got bowled out for only 229 runs on the first day of the match. Ted Peate finished with a 6-wicket haul including Australia’s first four wickets. England, in reply, lost half their side for 130 runs on the board but was rescued by Allan Steel who came to bat at No.5. Steel shared a 98-run partnership for the 6th wicket in only 90 minutes with Dick Barlow.
England put steps towards a big lead as Allan Steel put on partnerships of 39 and 76 runs respectively with Walter Read (12) and Alfred Lyttelton (31). In this process, Allan brought up his second Test century and also the first-ever hundred by any individual at the Lord’s. He struck 13 fours during his 148-run knock which came in about 230 minutes on the 2nd day.
Allan’s knock helped England to finish with 379 and claimed a 150-run first-innings lead. Australia, in the second essay, moved to 60/1 and were set to avoid an innings defeat. But three wickets in quick space left them at 73/4 by the end of the second day. George Ulyett, who took three wickets towards the end of the second day, claimed four more on the 3rd day morning. Ulyett’s 7-wicket haul helped England to bundle out Australia for 145 and seal an innings and 5-run victory.
Allan Gibson Steel was one of the four siblings from the family of Steel who featured in first-class cricket. Douglas, Harold and Ernest also represented Lancashire like Allan but did not make it to Test cricket. His son Allan Ivo Steel was also a first-class cricketer who played five matches in 1912 for Middlesex shortly before turning 20.
