1801 to 1815 English cricket seasons

This article describes the 1801 to 1815 English cricket seasons which were badly hit by the Napoleonic War. Great Britain put enormous manpower and investment into the war effort and this meant that little of either was available for cricket.

The impact of the war had been felt by cricket since 1797 and inter-county matches had simply ceased after 1796. It was not until 1825, a full ten years after Waterloo, that they were resumed. There was a steady decline in both number and quality of major matches during the first decade of the 19th century until, as the list below reveals, they became few and far between after 1810. Nevertheless, the impact of this war was less severe than that of the Seven Years War because of the existence this time of MCC and other well-organised clubs like Brighton and Montpelier. These clubs managed to co-ordinate cricket activities during the war emergency and, as it were, keep the game going. As a result, a reasonable number of matches took place and a discernible recovery could begin in 1815 after Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated.

But the sport did face real problems. In 1813, the "Nottingham Review" commented: "The manly and athletic game at cricket for which the boys of Sherwood have been so long and so justly famed, it was thought, had fallen into disuse, if not disgrace...". The reference to "disgrace" is interesting for there is a view expressed by Rowland Bowen that the game went out of fashion in addition to the wartime problems it faced.

The period effectively forms a delimiter between what may be termed the underarm era of the sport and the roundarm era that followed it. It was a decade or so before roundarm really became entrenched but the issue had been raised during the war years and was to remain unresolved and much discussed throughout the post-war period.

Events

A match entitled [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/97/97308.html Gen. C Lennox’s XI v G H Leycester’s XI] was played in the 1802 season but has only recently been discovered in the works of Samuel Britcher. The game took place at Lord’s (Dorset Square) on Tues 8 June 1802 for a prize of 500 guineas but it was abandoned due to rain all day on 9 June and never completed. Scores at close of play on 8 June were Lennox 48 & 72; Leycester 39 & 26-2.

In the 1806 season, the first two Gentlemen v Players matches took place but the match did not occur again until 1819. It became an annual fixture from 1829 until 1962. During the 1830s it was often played as an odds fixture with the Players being handicapped.

In the 1807 season John Willes of Kent first tried to revive the idea of "straight-armed" (i.e., roundarm bowling) which had originated with Tom Walker in the 1790s.

The 1809 season was about the time that the no ball rule was first applied re the bowler's foot being over the crease. It was applied to throwing in 1816.

MCC on the move

In the first 14 seasons of its existence, MCC established itself as cricket's premier club and acquired a unique position as arbiter and guardian of the sports Laws, which it had twice revised. All noted amateur players had become members and its team was strong enough to challenge county opposition such as Hampshire and Middlesex. To emphasise its status, Lord's Cricket Ground had become the accepted venue for all great matches and it was the ambition of every aspiring cricketer to play there.

But Lord's was already losing its rural character as London expanded and began to surround it. The landlord, Mr Portman, felt able to increase the rent and so Thomas Lord decided to seek another venue. The lease on the "Old Ground" was due to expire on Lady Day in 1810 but Lord moved fast and, by May 1809, had secured a lease on another plot of land, part of the St John's Wood estate which belonged to the Eyre family. He opened this "Middle Ground" in time for the 1809 season but MCC refused to relocate and continued at the Old Ground until the winter of 1810-11 when Lord staged a "fait accompli": he literally seized "his turf" by having it dug up and moved to the Middle Ground.

In time for the 1811 season, MCC reluctantly followed him and were resident at the Middle Ground for the next three years. Their stay was short-lived because the land was requisitioned by Parliament for the building of the Regent's Canal.

Lord again contacted the Eyre family and persuaded them to lease to him another parcel of land in St John's Wood, about half a mile further north at a place called North Bank. This site had previously been a duckpond! In the winter of 1813-14, Lord again had his turf dug up and removed. He built a high perimeter fence, a tavern and a pavilion. On 22 June 1814, MCC played the first match there against Hertfordshire, then as now a minor county.

The first match of importance was played on 13-15 July 1814 when MCC took on a team called St John’s Wood that included a number of Surrey players including William Beldham, William Lambert and William Ward.

First mentions by season

1801

* William Lambert

1802

* E H Budd
* Harry Hampton (Kent) – played five matches to 1811

1803

* Thomas Howard
* Goddard (Hampshire) – played six matches to 1808
* John Pointer (Hampshire) – played 15 matches to 1810
* John Sparks (Surrey) – played 29 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1829)

1804

* Richard Beckett (MCC; amateur) – played nine matches to 1807
* Samuel Bridger (Surrey) – played 19 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1825)
* Felix Ladbroke (MCC; amateur) – played 9 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1826)
* Thomas Vigne – played 14 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1832)

1805

* Windebank (Hants) – played four matches to 1807

1806

* John Willes
* Richard Leigh (Surrey; amateur) – played five matches to 1809

1807

* John Bentley – played 9 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1817)
* Noah Mann junior – played 5 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1818)

1808

* William Ashby
* George Osbaldeston
* Benjamin Aislabie
* Douglas Kinnaird – played 11 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1822)

1809

* Edmund Carter (MCC) – played 9 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1816)
* John Sherman (Surrey) – played 9 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1852: joint-longest career)

1810

* William Ward
* John Bowyer (Surrey) – played 1 match to 1815 (career continued to 1828)
* James Sherman (Surrey) – played 6 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1821)

1811

* J Poulet (MCC) – played 6 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1818)
* Andrew Schabner (MCC) – played 8 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1824)

1812

* Henry Everett (MCC) – played 1 match to 1815 (career continued to 1839)
* Humphrey Repton (MCC) – played 5 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1817)

1813

none

1814

* Jem Broadbridge
* Benjamin F Dark (Hampshire) – played 2 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1826)
* John T Jones (Middlesex) – played 3 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1819)
* G Wells (Sussex) – played 4 matches to 1815 (career continued to 1821)

1815

* Charles Andrew (Sussex) – played until 1824
* John Brand (MCC) – played until 1828
* Algernon F Greville (Middlesex) – played until 1823
* Francis Mellersh (Sussex) – played until 1830
* William Slater (Sussex) – played until 1829
* William Sturt (Sussex) – played until 1817
* Edward C Woodbridge (Surrey) – played until 1819
* Frederick Woodbridge (Surrey) – played until 1819

Leading players by season

The lists below give the leading first-class runscorers and wicket-takers in each domestic season.

Batsmen

* 1801 – Robert Robinson 141 @ 28.20
* 1802 – Lord Frederick Beauclerk 106 @ 26.50
* 1803 – Beauclerk 284 @ 35.50
* 1804 – Beauclerk 258 @ 32.25
* 1805 – Beauclerk 468 @ 58.50 [Beauclerk in 1805 is the first batsman known to have scored two first-class centuries in the same season]
* 1806 – Lambert 276 @ 23.00
* 1807 – Lambert 355 @ 39.44
* 1808 – Beauclerk 379 @ 37.90
* 1809 – Beauclerk 464 @ 33.14
* 1810 – Lambert 396 @ 39.60
* 1811 – Lambert 51 @ 25.50
* 1812 – Beauclerk 87 @ 43.50
* 1813 – Robinson 78 @ 78.00
* 1814 – Beauclerk 126 @ 25.20
* 1815 – Lambert 172 @ 24.57

Bowlers

* 1801 – Beauclerk 13
* 1802 – Beauclerk 7
* 1803 – Beauclerk 12
* 1804 – Beauclerk 17
* 1805 – Lambert 20
* 1806 – Thomas Howard 21
* 1807 – John Wells 24
* 1808 – Howard and Beauclerk 16 apiece
* 1809 – Howard 35
* 1810 – Lambert 31
* 1811 – Howard 8
* 1812 – Howard 8
* 1813 – Lambert and EH Budd 5 apiece
* 1814 – Howard and Lambert 11 apiece
* 1815 – Henry Bentley 15

Fielders

* 1811 – Beldham, Budd, Howard and Lambert had two catches apiece
* 1812 – John Hammond 3 ct
* 1813 – Beauclerk 3 ct
* 1814 – Howard 3 ct, 9 st
* 1815 – Lambert 7 ct, 1 st

:NB – "scorecards of matches in the early 19th century are not necessarily accurate or complete;":"therefore any summary of runs, wickets or catches can only represent the known totals"

First-class matches 1811 to 1815

Very few matches of importance were recorded during these five years while the war reached its height:

1811

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/349.html B Aislabie's XI v G Osbaldeston's XI @ Lord's Middle Ground on 8th, 9th July 1811]

1812

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/350.html Lord F Beauclerk's XI v G Osbaldeston's XI @ Lord's Middle Ground on 15th, 16th, 17th June 1812]

1813

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/351.html Lord F Beauclerk's XI v E Bligh's XI @ Lord's Middle Ground on 7th, 8th, 9th June 1813]

1814

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/352.html MCC v St John's Wood @ Lord's Cricket Ground on 13th, 14th, 15th July 1814]
* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/353.html Lord F Beauclerk's XI v G Osbaldeston's XI @ Goodwood Park on 22nd, 23rd July 1814]
* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/354.html Brighton v Epsom @ Royal New Ground, Brighton on 28th, 29th July 1814]
* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/355.html Lord F Beauclerk's XI v DJW Kinnaird's XI @ Lord's Cricket Ground on 2nd, 3rd, 4th August 1814]

1815

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/356.html MCC v Middlesex @ Lord's Cricket Ground on 31st May, 1st June 1815]
* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/357.html Lord F Beauclerk's XI v W Ward's XI @ Lord's Cricket Ground on 20th, 21st, 22nd June 1815]
* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/358.html England v Surrey @ Lord's Cricket Ground on 12th, 13th, 14th July 1815]
* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/359.html Kent v England @ Napps, Wrotham on 17th, 18th July 1815]
* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/360.html Sussex v Epsom @ Royal New Ground, Brighton on 7th, 8th, 9th August 1815]
* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/361.html Middlesex v Epsom @ Lord's Cricket Ground on 24th, 25th August 1815]

References

External sources

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Events/ENG.html CricketArchive – itinerary of English cricket]

Further reading

* H S Altham, "A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914)", George Allen & Unwin, 1962
* Derek Birley, "A Social History of English Cricket", Aurum, 1999
* Rowland Bowen, "Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development", Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
* Samuel Britcher, "A list of all the principal Matches of Cricket that have been played (1790 to 1805)"
* G B Buckley, "Fresh Light on Pre-Victorian Cricket", Cotterell, 1937
* Arthur Haygarth, "Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826)", Lillywhite, 1862