The Western Brothers

There's some information on Sir John Pelham within Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham, who was his son.

Working Notes

This article covers the History of English Cricket from 1816 to 1863. For women's cricket, see History of women's cricket. For articles on the development of the game in the main cricket-playing countries outside England during this period, see:


 * History of Australian cricket to 1850
 * History of Canadian cricket
 * History of Indian cricket to 1892
 * [[History of New Zealand cricket to 1863
 * History of South African cricket to 1888
 * History of Sri Lankan cricket to 1988
 * History of West Indian cricket to 1864
 * United States cricket team

See also: Overview of English cricket 1726 - 1815

Cricket in the 18th century enjoyed uninterrupted progress and continuous development until it was abruptly curtailed after the 1810 season by the impact of the Napoleonic War. A partial recovery began in 1815, the year of the Battle of Waterloo, and a more widespread return to normality can be observed from 1816. In addition, there was a discernible shift towards the adoption of roundarm bowling after 1816 and so the Napoleonic War acted as a delimiter of sorts between the two distinct historical eras of underarm bowling and roundarm bowling.

The game continued to increase in its popularity and geographical spread.

This was the period during which roundarm bowling generally superseded underarm bowling. A fuller description of how this occurred can be found in the first of the linked articles.

Links to: History of Australian cricket to 1850 History of Canadian cricket History of Indian cricket to 1892 History of New Zealand cricket to 1863 History of South African cricket to 1888 History of Sri Lankan cricket to 1988 History of West Indian cricket to 1864 History of women's cricket Overview of English cricket 1816 - 1918

roundarm (link to roundarm bowling) players had been experimenting, banned 1816, legalised 1835 changes in Laws, equipment and attire All-England and United All-England XIs (link to existing article All-England Eleven) spread of railway network in second half of period History of rail transport in Great Britain 1830 - 1922 permitting matches between widely separated opponents and facilitating larger crowds foundation of some county clubs and growth in county matches MCC developments (including suppression of gambling) the Public Schools (Rugby, Eton, Harrow, etc) and universities leading players (Lord Frederick Beauclerk, Wiliam Clarke, Wiliam Lambert, William Ward, John Willes, Alfred Mynn, Fuller Pilch) and clubs (eg Kent's great period in the 1830s) George Parr 1859 tour to N America developments outside England: the start of first-class cricket in Australia (1850 from memory) and the first international between the USA and Canada in 1844

References to include "Dates in Cricket History" article that appears now and then in Wisden

1816 Formation of the Manchester club which took part in a number of important matches until Lancashire CCC was established in 1864. Manchester were representative of Lancashire as a county in the same way that Sheffield and Nottingham represented Yorkshire and Notts. 1817 Sussex v. Epsom at Lord’s was a five-day match. William Lambert guested for Sussex and scored two centuries (107* & 157) in the match, the first player to achieve the feat in top-class cricket. 1819 First recorded instance of the Cambridge University v. Cambridge Town Club fixture that became almost annual until the 1860s. It was also the earliest major match to involve either team. There was a very fine line between Cambridge Town Club and Cambridgeshire, the one dovetailing with the other. Similar scenarios were Nottingham/Notts, Manchester/Lancashire & Sheffield/Yorkshire. 1820 According to Wisden, the original Northants CCC was founded this year but was subject to substantial reorganisation and reformation in 1878. Earliest mention of wicket-keeping gloves. William Ward scored 278 for MCC v. Norfolk at Lord’s, the first known double century. 1822 In the MCC v. Kent match at Lord’s, John Willes of Kent opened the bowling and was no-balled for using a roundarm action, a style he had attempted to introduce since 1807. Willes promptly withdrew from the match and refused to play again in any important fixture. Roundarm was a natural reaction to the growing predominance of batsmen over the age-old underarm style of bowling. Its adherents argued that the legalisation of roundarm was essential to restore the balance between batting and bowling. :However, high-scoring matches were still comparatively rare owing to vagaries in pitch conditions. 1825 Thurs 28 July. A schools match at Lord’s between Harrow and Winchester had just concluded and then, during the night, the pavilion burned down with the consequent loss of valuable scorecards, records and trophies. Thomas Lord claimed he lost £2600 in paid subscriptions, none of which were ever recovered. Which begs the questions of why it wasn’t in the bank and why he apparently wasn’t insured! William Ward purchased the lease of Lord’s ground from Thomas Lord, who retained freehold. Lord had been proposing to build houses on the land which brought cries of outrage from the gentlemen players. Ward, a rich banker as well as a fine batsman, stepped in and bought the leasehold to save the ground for cricket. Even so, it was many years before the famous ground’s future was secured. The lease was transferred to Mr James H Dark in 1835 and he retained proprietry till 1864. Then the freehold was sold in 1860 to a property speculator called Mr Moses for £7,000 and MCC did not bid! In 1864, MCC finally did purchase the freehold but paid £18,333 6s 8d for it with money advanced by William Nicholson. The lease expired same year and so, at last, Lord’s was owned in its entirety by MCC. 1826 A significant event that would in time accelerate the spread of cricket throughout England was the passage of an Act of Parliament on Friday 5 May that authorised creation of the Liverpool to Manchester Railway and effectively began the railway boom. The Lord’s pavilion had been rebuilt in time for MCC’s annual dinner on Thurs 11 May. Sussex was widely acclaimed as the Champion County although no formal league structure existed. It was the earliest known instance of a county championship being proposed. A situation similar to boxing developed in that another contender could challenge the champion. Arthur Haygarth closed his Scores & Biographies Volume 1 at the end of the 1826 season. 1827 4 June. Cambridge University v. Oxford University at Lord’s was the first University Match. It became an annual fixture in 1838. The roundarm controversy came to a head before the 1827 season and MCC agreed to the staging of three trial matches between Sussex and All-England. Roundarm’s supporters made the grandiose claim that their campaign was a march of intellect. It is difficult to discern anything intellectual about propelling a cricket ball with arm outstretched vis-à-vis propelling it with hand below elbow, but there we are. What the bowlers were really after was of course to claim an advantage over the batsmen. No firm conclusions were drawn in the immediate aftermath of the trials and it was many years before roundarm was formally legalised. But, in practice, roundarm was adopted in 1827 as its practitioners, especially William Lillywhite and Jem Broadbridge of Sussex, continued to use it with little, if any, opposition from the umpires. Underarm bowling did not cease, even if it had been superseded. In fact, underarm survived roundarm. Underarm as a tactical alternative to overarm continued into the 20th century. 1828 Following the Sussex v. England roundarm trial matches in 1827, MCC modified Rule 10 to permit the bowler’s hand to be raised as high as the elbow. But, in practice, Sussex bowlers William Lillywhite and Jem Broadbridge continued to bowl at shoulder height and the umpires didn’t no-ball them. 1829 Earliest known reference to cricket in Worcestershire. 1832 Earliest reference to cricket in New Zealand is in a churchman’s diary. 5 September. A notice in the Colombo Journal calling for the formation of a cricket club is the earliest reference to cricket in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The Colombo Cricket Club was formed soon afterwards and matches began in November. 1833 First use of Yorkshire as a team name (instead of Sheffield). John Nyren published The Cricketers Of My Time. It had been serialised in The Town during the previous year. 1835 Powerless to prevent the use of roundarm, MCC finally amended the Laws of Cricket to make it legal. The relevant part of the Law stated: ‘if the hand be above the shoulder in the delivery, the umpire must call No Ball.’ Bowlers’ hands now started to go above the shoulder and the 1835 Law had to be reinforced in 1845 by removing benefit of the doubt from the bowler in the matter of his hand’s height when delivering the ball. Nottinghamshire as a county team, and perhaps also as Notts CCC, played its first inter-county match v. Sussex at Brown’s Ground, Brighton on 27, 28 & 29 August. Previous matches involved Nottingham as a town rather than Notts as a county. Notts is recognised as a first-class county team from 1835. The lease of Lord’s Ground was transferred to JH Dark, who remained proprietor until 1864. 1835: 1st appearance in laws: compulsory follow on if 100 behind 1836 Although Sussex had been a major cricket centre since the 17th century, there had apparently been no move towards a permanent county organisation until 17 June 1836 when a meeting in Brighton set up a Sussex Cricket Fund to support county matches. It was from this organisation that Sussex CCC was formally constituted in 1839. The inaugural North v. South fixture was held at Lord’s on 11 & 12 July. 1837 Kent was proclaimed Champion County and held the title for eight years until being deposed by Sussex in 1845. Mainstays of the Kent team in those years included Alfred Mynn, Fuller Pilch, Felix, EG Wenman and WR Hillyer. 1838 Melbourne Cricket Club founded. 1839 1 March. Formation of Sussex CCC out of the Sussex Cricket Fund organisation that had been set up in 1836. Sussex CCC played its initial first-class match v. MCC at Lord’s on 10 & 11 June. 1841 March/April. Formal creation of Nottinghamshire CCC (the exact date has been lost) although, as noted above, an informal Notts CCC may have been set up in 1835. 1842 6 August. Formation of Kent CCC in Canterbury (reformed as the present club in 1859). Teams representing Kent had been playing regularly in first-class matches since the early 18th century but these were invariably sides raised by wealthy patrons. The new Kent CCC played its initial first-class match v. England at the White Hart Ground, Bromley on 25, 26 & 27 August. 1844 13 March. Foundation of Cambridgeshire CCC which played first-class cricket 1857 to 1871. 28 August. A match on Hartlebury Common between Worcestershire and Shropshire is the earliest known instance of a county team in Worcestershire. 1845 Although several earlier county organisations had existed going back to 1709, the present Surrey CCC was formed at a meeting which took place at the new Kennington Oval during a match between two local teams on 21 & 22 August. 1846 The earliest first-class match at the Oval was Surrey Club v. MCC on 25 & 26 May. Only 194 runs were scored in the match with a top score of 13. WR Hillyer took 14 wickets to help MCC win by 48 runs. Surrey CCC played its initial first-class match v. Kent at the Oval on 25 & 26 June, winning by 10 wickets. Social conditions, including the railways, were a major factor in the debut of the travelling All England Eleven. The team was founded in Nottingham by William Clarke, who also opened the Trent Bridge cricket ground. The first AEE match was at Sheffield in September and they played others in Manchester and Leeds. The All England Eleven played its inaugural fixture against a Sheffield XX in September. The AEE team was: W Clarke, J Dean, W Dorrinton, F Pilch, A Mynn, J Guy, W Martingell, T Sewell, G Butler, VC Smith and W Hillyer. Other players who represented the AEE in its early days included G Parr, FW Lillywhite, N Felix, W Denison, T Box and OC Pell. 1849 23, 24 & 25 July. Yorkshire v Lancashire at Hyde Park Ground, Sheffield was the first match to involve a Lancashire county team and also, therefore, the first Roses match. Yorkshire won by 5 wickets. 1850 Re-emergence of Middlesex as a county team, largely through the interest of the Walker family that eventually founded the present Middlesex club. 1851 11 - 12 February. Tasmania v Victoria at Launceston Racecourse was the initial first class match in Australia. Tasmania won by 3 wickets. 1852 The United All England Eleven was established as a rival to the AEE. J Dean and J Wisden were the main organisers and other players to represent the UEE in its early years included John Lillywhite, T Lockyer, J Grundy, F P Miller, W Mortlock and T Sherman. 27 July. John Sherman made his final first-class appearance for Manchester v. Sheffield at Hyde Park, Sheffield. His career had spanned 44 seasons from his debut at Lord’s on 20 Sept 1809 when he played for Beauclerk’s XI v. Ladbroke’s XI. His was the longest first-class career span, equalled only by W G Grace. 1854 1854: differential reduced to 80 (60 in one day) 1855 26 - 27 March. Victoria v. New South Wales at Melbourne was the earliest first class match played by New South Wales. They won by 3 wickets. 1857 The AEE and UEE began an annual series of matches against each other that continued until 1869. The fixture was the most important of the season while it lasted. Two games were played in 1857, both at Lord’s and both won by the AEE. AEE players in 1857 included: G Parr (capt), AJD Diver, HH Stephenson, J Caesar, RC Tinley, G Anderson, E Willsher and J Jackson. UEE players in 1857 included: J Wisden (capt), J Dean, J Grundy, W Caffyn, John Lillywhite, T Lockyer, W Mortlock and W Martingell. J Grundy became the first player to be given out handling the ball when playing for MCC v. Kent at Lord’s. 1859 1 March. Formation of the present Kent CCC. The earliest reference to a hat being presented to a bowler who had taken wickets with three successive deliveries, hence hat trick. 21, 22 & 23 July. VE Walker of Middlesex, playing for England v. Surrey at the Oval, took all ten wickets in the Surrey first innings and followed by scoring 108 in the England second innings, having been the not out batsman in the first (20*). He took a further four wickets in Surrey’s second innings. England won by 392 runs. 7 September. Departure of cricket’s first-ever touring team. A famous photograph was taken on board ship before they sailed from Liverpool. The team of English professionals went to North America and played five matches, winning them all. There were no first-class fixtures. The 12-man squad was: G Parr (captain), J Caesar, W Caffyn, R Carpenter, AJD Diver, J Grundy, T Hayward, J Jackson, John Lillywhite, T Lockyer, HH Stephenson, J Wisden. 1860 Freehold of Lord’s Ground sold to a Mr Moses for £7,000. MCC did not bid. JH Dark retained the leasehold until 1864. 1861 7 March. A Match Fund Committee to run Yorkshire county matches was established in Sheffield, which had been the home of Yorkshire cricket for nearly 100 years. It was from this fund that Yorkshire CCC was founded two years later: an exact parallel with the formation of Sussex CCC from a similar fund (1836-1839). HH Stephenson captained the first English team to tour Australia. No first class matches were played. 1862 26 August. Surrey v. England at the Oval. Edgar Willsher of England was no-balled six times in succession by John Lillywhite (son of FW Lillywhite) for bowling with his hand above the shoulder. For some years previously, Willsher and others had bowled in this way and the incident at the Oval put the issue into context. The drama was exaggerated when Willsher and the other eight professionals in the England team walked off the field. Play continued next day but with a replacement umpire. 1863 8 January. Formation of Yorkshire CCC out of the Sheffield Match Fund Committee that had been established in 1861. Yorkshire CCC played its initial first-class match v. Surrey at the Oval on 4, 5 & 6 June. It was a rain-affected draw, evenly balanced. 12 August. Formation of Hampshire CCC. A number of previous county organisations including the famous Hambledon Club had existed in Hampshire during the previous hundred years or more, but none had survived indefinitely. 15 December. Formation of Middlesex CCC at a meeting in the London Tavern. An organisation in Cheltenham is believed to have been the forerunner of Gloucestershire CCC, which had definitely been founded by 1871. Exact details of the club’s foundation have been lost.

Cricinfo suggests: 1827 First Oxford v Cambridge match, at Lord's 1836 First North v South match c.1836 Batting pads invented 1845 First match at The Oval 1849 First Yorkshire v Lancashire 1850 Wicket-keeping gloves first used 1853 First "champion county": Nottinghamshire 1858 First recorded hat trick (hat actually presented to the bowler for taking wickets with three consecutive balls) 1859 First England touring team, to US and Canada

http://www.dangermouse.net/cricket/history/

http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/153476.html

Dates in cricket history, 1978

1817 First two separate centuries: 107 and 157 by William Lambert for Sussex v. Epsom at Lord's. 1820 First recorded score of 200: 278 by William Ward for M.C.C. v. Norfolk at Lord's, a record for that ground for 105 years. 1821 First century in Gentlemen v. Players: 113 not out by Thomas Beagley. 1822 John Willes no-balled for throwing, i.e. round-arm bowling. 1825 First Harrow v. Winchester match. Winchester won. 1826 First recorded century in a school match, 146 not out by W. Meyrick for Winchester v. Harrow. 1827 First University match: drawn. The captains were Charles Wordsworth, Oxford, and Herbert Jenner, Cambridge.

The three Experimental Matches between Sussex and England to try out the new (round-arm) bowling, now perfected by William Lillywhite and James Broadbridge of Sussex. 1828 M.C.C. authorise the bowler to raise his hand level with the elbow. 1833 John Nyren writes his Young cricketer's Tutor and The Cricketers of My Time: this is the locus classicus for late 18th century history and personalities of the game. 1835 M.C.C. adopt a revised Code of the Laws on May 20. 1836 First North v. South Match: for many years recognised as the greatest match of the season. 1838 Opening of the Trent Bridge Ground, Nottingham, by William Clarke. 1841 The Duke of Wellington issues an order that a cricket ground is to be made as an adjunct to every military barracks. 1842 The Canterbury Week and The Old Stagers instituted. 1845 First match on the Oval.

I. Zingari formed. 1846 The All-England Eleven, organised by William Clarke, began its great work of playing matches, against odds, all over the country. The eleven was subsequently managed by George Parr. An admirable lithograph of the team, from a drawing by the famous Kent batsman, N. Felix, was published in 1847.

Last match played for the single-wicket championship, A. Mynn v. N. Felix.

Fenner's Ground, Cambridge, opened: leased by C.U.C.C. from 1873: freehold purchased 1892.

The Telegraph Score Board introduced at Lord's.

Score-cards first sold at Lord's. 1848 July 18, W. G. Grace born. 1849 First Yorkshire v. Lancashire match (see below) 1850 J. Wisden bowls all ten batsmen in one innings, North v. South, at Lord's. 1851 Oxford University C.C. rents the Magdalen Ground, Cowley, for a University Ground: they migrated to their present quarters in The Parks in 1881. 1852 The United All-England XI formed, in rivalry to the All-England XI. Secretaries: Wisden and Dean. 1854 Last of the Public Schools Weeks (Eton, Harrow, Winchester) at Lord's. 1850-55(c.) About this time the mowing machine began to be used on cricket grounds, but sheep continued to be used at Lord's for many more years. 1855 W. Clarke takes 476 wickets in a season.

Bramall Lane Ground, Sheffield, opened.

1857 The Cricketers Fund Friendly Society instituted.

For ten years the great match between the A.E.E. and the U.A.E.E. was played in its support. From 1884, until his death, Lord Harris was its president, and the society has done invaluable work for professional cricketers and their dependents. 1858 First recorded instance of hat being given to the bowler for taking three wickets with consecutive balls. 1862 In a match at the Oval, England v. Surrey, Edgar Willsher of Kent was no-balled by John Lillywhite for having his hand higher than his shoulder. Willsher left the field, and the game was suspended for the day. Next day another umpire replaced Lillywhite, who refused to reconsider his view. This led to the change in the law in 1864.

Publication of vols. 1-4 of Scores and Biographies, compiled by Arthur Haygarth. This work recorded the full scores of all discoverable matches from 1744 onwards.

1800 - 1850 From about 1810-15 trousers began to replace breeches, though Eton and Harrow still wore the latter in 1830. Tall "beaver" hats in black or white, became the rule. Shirts no longer frilled, but now worn with rather high collars and spreading bow ties; singlets instead of shirts not uncommon. Wide braces often seen, especially on professionals. Black "Oxford" shoes universal. Belts, with metal clasps, for the waist. Towards the end of this period the tall hat began to give place to a full flannel cap, white or chequered, or, less commonly, to a straw hat, often rather of a haymaker's shape. Short, white flannel jackets, mentioned as early as 1812, began to appear as frontrunners of "the blazer"; T. Lockyer, the Surrey cricketer, is thought to have been the first to wear "a cricket coach". 1850 - 1880 Under the lead of I Zingari (established 1845) Club cricket colours begin to appear, often as ribbons round the white bowler hats now replacing the tall and straw hats of the previous two decades. Club caps date from about 1850, but Eton may have sported their light blue caps in 1851 and the Rugby XI were "habited alike" in 1843. The Winchester XI first wore their blue caps in 1851 and Harrow their striped caps in 1852. The Cambridge "blue" seems to date from 1861, the Oxford "blue" certainly from 1863. Coloured shirts became common as uniform, e.g. a pattern of coloured spots, stripes or checks on a white ground: the All England XI wore white shirts with pink spots.

1819.	The 46 inches between creases increased to 48 inches.

1849. The pitch could be swept and rolled before each innings at the request of either side. 1860. The rolling between the innings to be solely at the request of the side batting next. year	Stumps	Height	Bails	Breadth c. 1700	2	22 inches	1	6 inches c. 1776	3	22 inches	1	6 inches 1785	3	22 inches	2 or 1	6 inches 1798	3	24 inches	2 or 1	7 inches c. 1819	3	26 inches	2	7 inches c. 1823	3	27 inches	2	8 inches 1931	3	28 inches	2	9 inches †Optional till 1947.

1835. Length of bat limited to 38 inches. 1836. Dark's bats were sold by Sadd of Cambridge for 8s. 6d. 1853-4. Cane handles were invented by Nixon. Early bats were very heavy: the bat with which William Ward made his record score of 278 in 1820 weighed 4 lb. 2 oz.

The Ball 1744.	Between 5 and 6 ounces. 1774.	Between 5½ and 5¾ ounces. 1838.	Circumference to be between 9 and 9¼ inches. 1927.	Circumference to be between 8 13/16 and 9 inches.

Pads c. 1800. A player named Robinson experiments with boards strapped to his legs. He is laughed out of his invention. c. 1836. Pads invented by (?) H. Daubeny of Oxford.

Gloves c. 1827. Tubular gloves produced by Daniel Day: no doubt in reaction to the new round-arm bowling. c. 1850. Wicket-keeping gauntlets first appeared.

The Over 1744.	4 balls. Though nowhere mentioned in the official Laws, unofficial manuals in the early 19th century make it clear that 6-ball overs were customary in rural cricket.

No-ball c. 1809. Foot over crease, the only no-ball. 1816.	First attempt to legislate against throwing; the hand to be below the elbow. 1835.	The hand not to be above the shoulder.

Follow-on 1787.	First recorded instance. 1835.	Compulsory after a deficit of 100 runs. 1854-94.	After a deficit of 80 runs.

L.B.W. 1744. No mention. 1774.	If, with design, the striker prevents the ball hitting the wicket with his leg. 1788.	Design clause omitted, and ball must pitch straight. 1795.	First recorded. c. 1821. Ball need not pitch straight, but must be delivered straight. 1839.	Reverts to 1788.

Scoring 1751.	First recording of the score at the fall of each wicket. 1769.	First known stroke-by-stroke record of a match. 1777.	First recording of the bowler being credited for catches off his bowling. 1827.	Wides first recorded as such. 1829.	No-balls to be scored as such, and a run debited; first recorded thus, 1830. 1836.	The bowler to be credited by name with the wickets caught and stumped. 1840.	Bowling analysis first kept in M.C.C. score-book. 1844.	Wides to be run for. 1848.	Leg-byes first recorded as such.

http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/152361.html

Compiled by Rowland Bowen, 1967 Some dates in Indian cricket history

1840 Indians known to be taking part in cricket matches. 1846 Madras Cricket Club formed. 1847 Cricket being played in Karachi. 1848 Parsis in Bombay form Orient C.C. c. 1850 Cricket being regularly played in Lahore. 1854 First known publication on cricket in India -- Calcutta Cricket Club matches 1844-54 -- this is also the first known book of scores outside the British Isles.

It should be pointed out that the Yorkshire v Lancashire match in 1849 did not feature the present day Lancashire County Cricket Club. The first match between the two teams that exist now took place in 1867. It's a common mistake. Andrew nixon 22:57, 7 February 2007 (UTC) I thought that might be the case. Indeed, Lancashire County Cricket Club says it was really Sheffield Cricket Club against Manchester Cricket Club, but still the first "Roses Match".