Leno, dressed as an undertaker, opened the innings with Bob Hunt, dressed as a pirate. It set the tone for the day. Leno sometimes hit the ball with his bat and caught it himself; at other times one of the fielders held it - it made little difference as he refused to budge and continued his innings. A few blows reached the boundary; others he kicked away as if it was a game of football. Eventually, realising neither umpire had any intention of giving Leno out, the Surrey players bodily lifted him up and dumped him over the boundary. It was pointless as he simply walked back to the middle.
As the game chugged on, artists circulated among the spectators, keeping them amused, while female performers sold scorecards. At lunch the bands and clowns returned, with the added attraction of a display by motorbikes, which were relatively new at the time. Before the restart, the fattest of the artists was rolled up and down the pitch.
Leno continued after lunch, his innings finally ending when he was chased off by a pantomime lion. No shy and retiring type, within minutes he was ambling round the outfield dressed as a schoolgirl and riding a camel. "Never has Leno, the greatest of modern comics, had to work so hard," reported the Sportsman. "Never has The Oval... witnessed such a scene... if the shades of past players could have risen they would have been paralysed."
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