Championship Rewind: Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire, 1946

Liam Norwell: Bears best ever bowling performance?

Everybody in cricket knows about the Hollies Stand - where the fans crank up the noise and create the best atmosphere in cricket.

There is nothing to compare with the sound of the Hollies Stand in full voice when something special is happening out on the field.

So what would they have made of it on July 24, 1946, when the great man himself, Eric Hollies, ripped through the Nottinghamshire batting to harvest an all-ten in a county championship match at Edgbaston?

In those days, of course, that side of the ground was the rather more sedate Rea Bank Stand with rows of modest, brown, wooden benches. It was all a little more genteel and, on the morning of July 24, 1946, the occupants of those benches were probably not overly impressed when Warwickshire batted first and were bowled out for only 170.

Only 51 from number eight Bill Fantham ensured a total of any substance. Hollies, at number 11, contributed just two runs...but when the Bears bowled, the leg-spin genius contributed a bit more.

After a few token overs from new ball pair, Frank Mitchell and Ron Maudsley, skipper Peter Cranmer threw the ball to Hollies. Nottinghamshire were 47 without loss and in complete control.

Forty overs later they were 135 all out and Hollies walked off the field to a standing ovation with figures of 20.4-4-49-10.

Any all-ten is a special feat, of course, but this one was even more special as none of the dismissals involved a fielder. Three Notts men fell lbw and seven were bowled as the magician of Old Hill bamboozled batsman after batsman.

This was the great Hollies at his height. The 1946 season brought him 175 championship wickets at 15.16 apiece. Those scalps joined a career tally which was to amount to 2,323 first class wickets - imagine how many he would have taken had he not lost six peaks seasons to the Second World War!

Strangely, Hollies' all-ten came in a defeat. After the Bears were bowled out cheaply again second time round, Nottinghamshire eased to a seven-wicket win, this time setting out to simply to block Hollies who ended with second innings figures of 31-20-29-1 for a match analysis of 51.4-24-78-11.

It was only the second all-ten by a Bears bowler in championship cricket and remains the most recent - unless one of Will Rhodes's men can change the situation over the next four days...