John Thomas Tyldesley (22 November 1873 – 27 November 1930) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and Test cricket for England. He was a specialist professional batsman, usually third in the batting order, who rarely bowled and generally fielded in outfield positions.
Born at Worsley, Lancashire, Tyldesley began his first-class career with Lancashire in 1895, and was a regular player until the First World War began in August 1914. Tyldesley was part of the Lancashire side when they won their first County Championship title in 1897. He played 31 Tests for England between 1899 and 1909, and was part of England teams who won the Ashes in 1903–04, and 1905. Tyldesley served in the British Army during the war, attaining the rank of corporal, and then recommenced his Lancashire career in 1919. He effectively retired from first-class cricket at the end of that season but did make one further appearance in 1923. Through the 1920s, Tyldesley ran a sports goods shop on Deansgate in Manchester. He played for Lancashire Second XI for some years until the end of the 1926 season when he concentrated on coaching, remaining with Lancashire and running his business until he died, aged 57, at his home in Monton, Eccles, Lancashire.
Johnny Tyldesley was born at Roe Green, Worsley on 22 November 1873 and received his early training in Lancashire club cricket, described by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack as "a very stiff school". He played for the Worsley Cricket Club in 1892 and 1893 before joining the Lancashire Second XI in 1894. Wisden considered him "a well equipped batsman" when he made his first-class debut for Lancashire in 1895. Tyldesley was often formally referred to by his initials but was generally known as "Johnny" or as "John Tommy".
Tyldesley made his first-class debut, also his County Championship debut, on 22 July 1895, playing for Lancashire against Gloucestershire in a drawn match at Old Trafford. Batting in the middle order, he scored 13 and 33 not out. In his second match for Lancashire, Tyldesley scored 152 not out with 17 fours and 1 six against Warwickshire on a rain-affected pitch at Edgbaston, enabling Lancashire to win by an innings and 54 runs. He played in ten first-class matches in 1895 and 17 in 1896. His innings at Edgbaston remained his only century in that period, though he scored six half-centuries in 1896 with a top score of 68.
Having been runners-up five times in the previous six seasons, Lancashire won their first official County Championship title in 1897. Tyldesley began the season with a run of indifferent scores and did not make a half-century until his fourteenth match, starting on 1 July at Old Trafford, when he scored 54 and 53 against Essex. He followed up with three successive centuries, scoring 106 and 100 not out in the same match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston and then 174, his highest score to date, against Sussex at Old Trafford. After that, his form lapsed again and, apart from one innings of 68 against Somerset at Old Trafford, he made low scores only, including four ducks, in the remainder of the season. He generally batted at number five for Lancashire in 1897. His season tally was 1,017 runs in 26 matches at the average of 30.81. He scored three centuries, three half-centuries and held 13 catches. He surpassed 1,000 runs in a season for the first time, going on to achieve the feat in each of nineteen successive seasons.
Tyldesley scored 1,918 runs in 1898 including his first double-century. He was invited to join Lord Hawke's tour of South Africa the following winter.
England tour of South Africa : 1898–99
Tyldesley played for England for the first time against South Africa in 1898–99. He hit a decisive 112 in one of the Tests.
Lancashire and England : 1899 to 1900
In 1899, Tyldesley played his first Ashes Tests at Trent Bridge and Lord's. He failed in these matches, but by this time was established as a top-class batsman with a superb range of strokes and wonderful footwork that made him effective even on pitches where the ball had considerable spin it did after rain in those days.
In the 1901 season, Tyldesley scored 3,041 runs, finishing as the country's top run-scorer in the county championship. As a result, he was selected as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in the 1902 edition. Wisden commented that he would have done even better but for the unpredictable state of the Old Trafford pitch in the early part of the season.
England tour of Australia : 1901–02
Tyldesley was not at his Lancashire best but still had a highscore of 66 in the second Test.
Lancashire and England: 1902 to 1903
In the 1902 Ashes J.T. Tyldesley scored 245 runs including a "superb" 138 in four and a half hours at Edgbaston was critical in placing England in a winning position. Almost twenty years later, Jessop remarked on the accuracy of his cutting.
England tour of Australia : 1903–04
Tyldesley toured Australia in 1903–04 and, despite again not making a Test hundred, he played an outstanding innings on a "sticky wicket" in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He was dismissed for 97 in England's first innings when they totalled 315 over the first two days of the match. Rain caused the pitch to deteriorate badly on the third day and Australia were all out for 122, of which Victor Trumper scored 74. England struggled to 74/5 at the close with Tyldesley 48 not out. On the morning of the fourth day, he reached 62 before being dismissed with the England score at 90/8. England were all out for 103 and then dismissed Australia for 111 to win the match by 185 runs. England's captain Pelham Warner said of Tyldesley's 62 that "surely a better innings has never been played on a bad wicket".
Lancashire and England : 1904 to 1910