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William "Silver Billy" Beldham was an English professional cricketer who played for numerous teams between 1782 and 1821. He was born at Wrecclesham, near Farnham in Surrey, and died at Tilford, Surrey. In some sources, his name has been given as "Beldam" or "Beldum". A right-handed batting all-rounder, he is widely recognised as one of the greatest batsmen of cricket's underarm era. Using an underarm action, he bowled pitched deliveries at a fast medium pace. He generally fielded in close catching positions, mostly at slip and sometimes played as wicket-keeper.
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William Palmer was an English cricketer who played during the 1760s and 1770s. He was born and died in Coulsdon, Surrey. As a top-order batsman, he was a member of the local Coulsdon Cricket Club and also played county cricket for Surrey. Most of Palmer's career was before cricket's statistical record began in the 1772 season so relatively little is known of him. However, he regularly played in noteworthy matches until 1776. He has been recorded in 24 eleven-a-side matches and in one top-class single wicket match. He was last recorded playing for Coulsdon against Chertsey in 1784 when he was 47 years old.
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1809 was the 23rd season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Thomas Lord opened his Middle Ground after refusing to pay increased rent at the Old Ground.
In the 1810 English cricket season, William Ward made his top-class debut and The Bs were dismissed for a total of only 6.
John Tufton was an English cricketer and a Member of Parliament (MP). He was a member of the aristocratic Tufton family that produced the Earls of Thanet and related through his mother to the Sackville family that produced the Dukes of Dorset.
Through the Napoleonic Wars, county cricket virtually died as cricket was impacted by losses of investment and manpower.
In English cricket, the years 1846–1863 were the main period of the sport's "roundarm era". Although roundarm had been legalised amid great controversy, its timespan was relatively short. By 1863, there was an increasing demand for the legalisation of overarm bowling and this was achieved on 10 June 1864.
References
- 1 2 Note that 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.
- ↑ Haygarth, p.341.
- ↑ Haygarth, p.342.
- ↑ Haygarth, p.343.
- ↑ Haygarth, p.344.
- ↑ Haygarth, p.345.
- ↑ Haygarth, p.346.