53.67 with 7 centuries and a highest score of 235 against Middlesex at Headingley. During 1925 and 1926, Sutcliffe's skill was a primary factor in Yorkshire having the longest unbeaten run in county cricket: i.e., 70 matches without loss until early 1927. After three defeats in 1927, Yorkshire went a further 58 games without loss until 1929. The first four Tests of the 1926 England v Australia series were scheduled for just three days and were all curtailed by poor weather. The final Test at the Oval was timeless to ensure a finish. It has become one of the most famous matches in cricket history, not because England regained the Ashes for the first time since 1912 but for the manner it which it was achieved as Hobbs and Sutcliffe produced their most famous partnership in treacherous batting conditions. Australia had a narrow first innings lead of 22 and, at close of play on the second day (a Monday), Hobbs and Sutcliffe had taken the England second innings score to 49–0, a lead of 27. Heavy rain fell overnight and next day, as the sun shone, the pitch soon developed into a "sticky wicket" on which it was generally assumed that England would be bowled out cheaply and so lose both the match and the series. But, in spite of the very difficult batting conditions, Hobbs and Sutcliffe put up a great defence of their wickets and gradually increased their partnership to 172 before Hobbs was out for exactly 100. Sutcliffe went on to make 161 and, in the end, England won the game comfortably, by 289 runs, and regained the Ashes. The tributes paid to Hobbs and Sutcliffe after this partnership are extensive. Pelham Warner perhaps encapsulated them all when he wrote: "Hobbs and Sutcliffe won it for us by their incomparable batting. They did not fail us at a time of most desperate crisis. Never has English cricket known a more dauntless pair". In the 1926 County Championship, Yorkshire lost the title despite being unbeaten to their close rivals Lancashire by a very narrow margin. Sutcliffe was 2nd in the national batting averages behind Hobbs, scoring 2,528 runs at 66.52 with 8 centuries and a highest score of exactly 200 against Leicestershire. In the 1927 County Championship, Yorkshire finished 3rd but it was another great season for both Holmes and Sutcliffe who scored over 4,500 runs and 12