1810 English cricket season
In the 1810 English cricket season, William Ward made his top-class debut and The Bs were dismissed for a total of only 6. Details of seven matches are known.[note 1]
Events
- The Bs were bowled out for 6 in the second innings of their match against England at Lord's Old Ground on 14 June: the innings contained only three scoring strokes, with E. H. Budd unable to bat due to injury. This total of 6 remains the record for the lowest innings total in top-class cricket.
- The match in August between Captain Blagrave's XI and Colonel Byng's XI is the last known to have been played on Lord's Old Ground.
- An American visitor drew a sharp distinction between cricket as played in England and "our cricket", referring especially to the "old long low wicket" still used in America.[5]
- The impact of the Napoleonic War had been felt by cricket since 1797, when inter-county matches simply ceased, and there had been a steady decline in both number and quality of major matches during the first decade of the 19th century until 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 Marylebone Cricket Club (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. Only 7 top-class matches were recorded in 1810:
- 29–31 May — Lord F Beauclerk's XI v E Bligh's XI @ Lord's Old Ground[6]
- 12–14 June — England v The Bs @ Lord's Old Ground[7]
- 19–21 June — England v Surrey @ Lord's Old Ground[8]
- 2–4 July — Over 38 v Under 38 @ Lord's Old Ground[8]
- 16–18 July — England v Surrey @ Lord's Old Ground[9]
- 24–25 July — Over 38 v Under 38 @ Lord's Old Ground[10]
- 13–15 August — Captain Blagrave's XI v Colonel Byng's XI @ Lord's Old Ground[11]
Notes
- ^ Some eleven-a-side matches played from 1772 to 1863 have been rated "first-class" by certain sources.[1] However, the term only came into common use around 1864, when overarm bowling was legalised. It was formally defined as a standard by a meeting at Lord's, in May 1894, of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the county clubs which were then competing in the County Championship. The ruling was effective from the beginning of the 1895 season, but pre-1895 matches of the same standard have no official definition of status because the ruling is not retrospective.[2] Matches of a similar standard since the beginning of the 1864 season are generally considered to have an unofficial first-class status.[3] Pre-1864 matches which are included in the ACS' "Important Match Guide" may generally be regarded as top-class or, at least, historically significant.[4] For further information, see First-class cricket.
References
- ^ "First-Class matches in England in 1772". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ Wisden (1948). Preston, Hubert (ed.). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (85th ed.). London: Sporting Handbooks Ltd. p. 813. OCLC 851705816.
- ^ ACS 1982, pp. 4–5.
- ^ ACS 1981, pp. 1–40.
- ^ Bowen, p.269.
- ^ Haygarth, p.357.
- ^ Haygarth, p.358.
- ^ a b Haygarth, p.359.
- ^ Haygarth, p.360.
- ^ Haygarth, p.362.
- ^ Haygarth, p.363.
Bibliography
- ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863. Nottingham: ACS. OCLC 85045528.
- ACS (1982). A Guide to First-class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles. Nottingham: ACS. OCLC 10586869.
- Haygarth, Arthur (1996) [1862]. Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Kennington: Frederick Lillywhite. ISBN 978-19-00592-23-9.
- Warner, Pelham (1946). Lords: 1787–1945. London: Harrap. OCLC 877106024.
Further reading
- Altham, H. S.; Swanton, E. W. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914) (5th ed.). London: George Allen & Unwin. OCLC 894274808.
- Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978-18-54107-10-7 – via Internet Archive.
- Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode. ISBN 978-04-13278-60-9.
- Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-00-07183-64-7 – via Internet Archive.