1820 English cricket season

1820 English cricket season

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1820 was the 34th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Fuller Pilch made his first known appearance at Lord's. Details of five matches are known. ^{[note 1]}

Events

• According to Wisden, the original Northamptonshire CCC was founded in 1820 but was subject to substantial reorganisation and reformation in 1878. 1820 also has the earliest mention of wicket-keeping gloves.
• William Ward scored 278 for MCC v. Norfolk at Lord's in 1820, the first known double century and a new world record for the highest individual innings in all forms of cricket, beating James Aylward's score of 167 in 1777. Opinion about the match's status is divided and Aylward continued to hold the record in first-class cricket until 1826.
• With cricket still recovering from the effects of the Napoleonic War, only a few first-class matches were recorded in 1820:
  • 23 May — Cambridge Town Club v Cambridge University @ Parker's Piece, Cambridge
  • 30 May — Cambridge Town Club v Cambridge University @ Parker's Piece, Cambridge
  • 19–20 June — Gentlemen v Players @ Lord's Cricket Ground ^[5]
  • 3–5 July — All-England v Hampshire @ Lord's Cricket Ground ^[6]
• In addition, on 24 July, the MCC v Norfolk match at Lord's. ^[7] Note that this match has dubious provenance and is not always regarded as first-class. ^[8]

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.

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.430.
6. Haygarth, p.432.
7. Haygarth, p.433.
8. Rae, p.207.

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.