1801 English cricket season

1801 English cricket season

← 1800 1802 →

1801 was the 15th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The famous batsman William Lambert made his debut in important matches. Details of eight matches are known. ^{[note 1]}

Honours

• Most runs ^{[note 2]} – Robert Robinson  : 141 (HS 55)
• Most wickets ^{[note 2]} – Lord Frederick Beauclerk  : 13

Events

• Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) made revisions to the Laws of Cricket which were republished in their entirety. ^[5]
• Thomas Boxall published the earliest known instructional book on cricket called Rules and Instructions for Playing at the Game of Cricket. ^[6]
• Cricket was by now feeling the impact of Great Britain's war against the Napoleonic Empire through a loss of investment which drastically reduced the number of first-class matches. Only four matches are recognised as first-class in 1801:
  • 18 May — MCC v Thursday Club @ Lord's Old Ground ^[7]
  • 24–25 June — All-England v Surrey @ Lord's Old Ground ^[8]
  • 6–7 July — W Turner's XI v T Mellish's XI @ Lord's Old Ground ^[9]
  • 20–21 July — All-England v Surrey @ Lord's Old Ground ^[10]
• William Lambert made his first-class debut playing for Surrey against All-England at Lord's on 20 July. He became "one of the most successful cricketers that has ever yet appeared, excelling as he did in batting, bowling, fielding, keeping wicket, and also single wicket playing". ^[10]

Debutants

1801 debutants included:

• Henry Burrows (Middlesex)
• William Lambert (Surrey)
• Thomas Onslow (Surrey)

Notes

1. 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.
2. Scorecards created in the first quarter of the 19th century are not necessarily accurate or complete; therefore any summary of runs, wickets or catches can only represent the known totals and computation of averages is ineffectual.

References

1. "First-Class matches in England in 1772" . CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
2. Wisden (1948). Preston, Hubert (ed.). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (85th ed.). London: Sporting Handbooks Ltd. p. 813. OCLC   851705816.
3. ACS 1982, pp. 4–5.
4. ACS 1981, pp. 1–40.
5. Haygarth, p. 284–285
6. Bowen, p.268.
7. Haygarth, p.285–286.
8. Haygarth, p.287.
9. Haygarth, p.287–288.
10. Haygarth, p.289.

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.
• Britcher, Samuel (1801). A Complete List of all the Grand Matches of Cricket that have been Played (1790–1805; annual series). London: W. S. Blake. OCLC   83523010.
• Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. London: HarperCollins. ISBN   978-00-07183-64-7 – via Internet Archive.