All-10 at The Oval rated as top display

In May, 1956, he took 10-88 in the tour match at The Oval, Tony Lock again going wicketless, returning 0-100.

In cool and cloudy conditions, Laker was not even feeling at his best after a sleepless night looking after his unwell daughter.

A half-hearted attempt to declare himself unfit was brushed aside by Stuart Surridge, the Surrey captain.

In contrast to Old Trafford, where it was a spinner’s paradise, the surface at The Oval offered little assistance .

“The ball turned only a little,” recalled Laker, “and not consistently.”

Half of his wickets came with straight balls .

“Five victims were bamboozled by balls that did not turn at all,” he said .

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, EW (Jim) Swanton described a great performance. “Nothing less describes the unfailing accuracy, the power of spin, and the little variations on a theme of a perfect length which brought him the glory,” he wrote.

Laker himself felt that it was, from a technical point of view, a better performance than the one at Manchester.