1805 English cricket season

1805 English cricket season

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1805 was the 19th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Lord Frederick Beauclerk became the first batsman known to have scored two centuries in the same season. Details of ten matches are known. ^{[note 1]}

Honours

• Most runs ^{[note 2]} – Lord Frederick Beauclerk  : 468 (HS 129*)
• Most wickets ^{[note 2]} – William Lambert  : 20

Events

• Lord Frederick Beauclerk became the first batsman known to have scored two first-class centuries in a season when he made 129* for Hampshire v All-England in July and 102 for All-England v Surrey in August.
• In what was the first definitely recorded Eton v Harrow match at Lord's Old Ground, the future poet Lord Byron played for Harrow. ^[5]
• With the Napoleonic War continuing, loss of investment and manpower impacted cricket ^[6] and only six important matches have been recorded from 1805:
  • Monday, 24 June: ^[7] All-England v Surrey @ Lord's Old Ground ^{[8] [9] [10]}
  • Monday, 1 to Wednesday, 3 July: ^[7] All-England v Hampshire @ Lord's Old Ground ^{[11] [9] [12]}
  • Monday, 8 to Wednesday, 10 July: ^[7] All-England v The Bs @ Lord's Old Ground ^{[11] [9] [13]}
  • Monday, 15 to Tuesday, 16 July: ^[7] All-England v Hampshire @ Lord's Old Ground ^{[14] [9] [15]}
  • Monday, 5 to Wednesday, 7 August: ^[7] All-England XII v Surrey XII @ Lord's Old Ground ^{[16] [9] [17]}
  • Tuesday, 13 to Wednesday, 14 August: ^[7] All-England XII v Surrey XII @ Lord's Old Ground ^{[18] [9] [19]}

Other matches

Aside from the six matches above which are generally regarded as having been important by reference to various substantial sources (including the ACS, Britcher and Haygarth), there were eight other matches first noted by Britcher and confirmed by Haygarth: ^{[20] [21]}

• 22–25 July: Twenty-Three v Twelve at Lord's
• 12 August: Richmond v Homerton at Richmond Green
• 21 August: Richmond v Homerton at Richmond Green
• 24 August: Rick & Uxbridge v St Albans at Lord Essex's Park
• 29–30 August: Kent v Bexley at Dartford Heath
• 16–17 September: England III v Surrey III at Lord's
• 21 September: Waltham Abbey v Homerton at Waltham Marsh, Essex
• 23 September: Kent v Bexley at Judge's Ground, Maidstone

Debutants

1805 debutants included:

• Windebank (Hampshire)

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. 319.
6. ACS, Important Matches, p. 4.
7. Collins, A. R. (2016). "Historical Calendar". Dr A. R. Collins.
8. Haygarth, p. 315.
9. ACS, Important Matches, p. 31.
10. Britcher, 1805, p. 10.
11. Haygarth, p. 316.
12. Britcher, 1805, p. 11.
13. Britcher, 1805, p. 12.
14. Haygarth, p. 317.
15. Britcher, 1805, p. 13.
16. Haygarth, p. 320.
17. Britcher, 1805, p. 16.
18. Haygarth, p. 321.
19. Britcher, 1805, p. 18.
20. Britcher, pp. 10–24.
21. Haygarth, pp. 315–323.

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 (1805). 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.