In an age when children were not supposed to speak until they were spoken to there was one young pupil at Elstree School who let his cricket bat do the talking.

That boy was Archie MacLaren, who went on to captain his country and break the record for the highest number of runs scored by an individual in one innings.

Archibald Campbell MacLaren arrived at Elstree School, situated at Hill House, in Elstree Hill South, which is now used as a nursing home, in the early 1880s.

He was the star player of the first XI and, at the age of 14, appeared at Lords for the first time when Elstree School played a match against Eton College.

MacLaren moved on to Harrow School, and also batted for Elstree Cricket Club, before making his first-class debut for his home county, Lancashire, at 18.

The most glorious moment of MacLaren's career came five years later, on July 16, 1895, when he was playing for Lancashire against Somerset at Taunton.

He went in to bat, in the morning, on a score of 289 and remained at the wicket until he had hit 424, a new world record for the most runs in an innings.

MacLaren was the first player to score 400 in first-class cricket, and his record of 424 stood for 99 years, until it was broken by Brian Lara in 1994.

His 424 beat the previous highest score record, which had been set by the legendary WG Grace, playing for the MCC against Kent in 1876, by 80 runs.

MacLaren made his debut appearance for England in 1895, and his international test career lasted for 15 years, during which time he played in 35 matches.

He captained his country on 22 occasions, and in his final first-class game, for England in 1923, he scored an unbeaten double century, at the age of 51.

At county level, MacLaren played more than 300 games for Lancashire, and a stand at the Old Trafford ground was named after him in recognition of his career.

November 9, 2001 17:04

By MARK FOY