List of Sussex first-class cricketers to 1838

Last updated

This is a list of cricketers who played for Sussex county cricket teams in first-class cricket matches before the formation of Sussex County Cricket Club in March 1839.

Contents

Cricket is generally believed to have originated out of children's bat and ball games in the areas of the Weald and North and South Downs in Kent and Sussex. [1] [2] The two counties and Surrey were the first centres of the game, [3] [4] and matches played by teams using the name Sussex are found as early as 1734. [lower-alpha 1] [5] [6] Matches by the side have been considered first-class from 1815, although Brighton Cricket Club played seven first-class matches between 1791 and 1814 [lower-alpha 2] and are sometimes considered to be representative of Sussex during this period. [lower-alpha 3] [7] [9] [10]

Sussex sides played 58 matches which are considered first-class before Sussex County Cricket Club was founded in March 1839, [11] [12] the first county cricket club to be formed in England. [13] A Sussex Cricket Fund had been established at Brighton in 1836 and this led to the formation of the county club three years later. The club played its first first-class match later the same year, with MCC the opponents at Lord's. [11]

This list includes those who played for Sussex sides in matches which have been given first-class status before the 1839 season. Many players appeared for other teams, but only those who played for Sussex sides have been included here.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

W

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Before this date matches had been played between teams organised by Sussex patrons such as the Duke of Richmond or William Gage against teams organised by patrons from other counties, including Kent, Middlesex and Surrey. [5]
  2. ↑ Six of these matches were played in 1791 and 1792 with the last played in 1814. There is no detailed scorecard available for the 1814 match but it has still be classified as first-class. [7] [8]
  3. ↑ More complete scorecards for cricket matches only reliably exist from 1772 and this is considered the date from which matches can be classified as first-class.
  4. ↑ Ayling played three first-class matches for Sussex, one in 1825 against a Hampshire side and two in 1826, both against combined Hampshire and Surrey sides. He scored a total of 21 runs with a highest score of eight not out. Other than a surname and initial no biographical details are known. A William Ayling, who was born at Cocking in Sussex in 1766, played in 22 first-class matches between 1800 and 1810 and died in October 1826 aged 59 or 60, but there is no known relationship between the men. [14] [15] [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sussex County Cricket Club</span> English cricket club

Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Sussex. Its limited overs team is called the Sussex Sharks. The club was founded in 1839 as a successor to the various Sussex county cricket teams, including the old Brighton Cricket Club, which had been representative of the county of Sussex as a whole since the 1720s. The club has always held first-class status. Sussex have competed in the County Championship since the official start of the competition in 1890 and have played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Newland (cricketer)</span> English cricketer (1713–1778)

Richard Newland was an English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period who played for Slindon and Sussex under the patronage of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond. He also represented various England teams and, in some matches, led his own select team. The eldest of three cricketing brothers, he is generally recognised as one of cricket's greatest early players and has been called a pioneer of the sport.

Sussex county cricket teams have been traced back to the early 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket dates from much earlier times as it is widely believed, jointly with Kent and Surrey, to be the sport's birthplace. The most widely accepted theory about the origin of cricket is that it first developed in early medieval times, as a children's game, in the geographical areas of the North Downs, the South Downs and the Weald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1800 English cricket season</span> Cricket championship

The 1800 English cricket season was the 29th in which matches have been awarded retrospective first-class cricket status and the 14th after the foundation of the Marylebone Cricket Club. The season saw five top-class matches played in the country.

John Willes was an English cricketer who played for Kent county cricket teams as a fast bowler. Despite only playing five first-class cricket matches, he had a significant impact on the game's history and development for his "pivotal" role in the development of roundarm bowling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ned Wenman</span> English cricketer

Edward Gower Wenman was an English cricketer whose top-class career spanned the 1825 to 1854 seasons. A wicket-keeper, he was a prominent member of the great Kent teams of the 1840s which featured Nicholas Felix, William Hillyer, Alfred Mynn and Fuller Pilch. Wenman is generally remembered as one of the best wicket-keepers of the 19th century with William Martingell describing him as the best all-round cricketer of his time.

The roundarm trial matches were a series of cricket matches between Sussex and All-England during the 1827 English cricket season. Their purpose was to help the MCC, as the game's lawgivers, to decide if roundarm bowling should be legalised or if the only legitimate style of bowling should be underarm, which had been in use since time immemorial.

William Ayling was an English cricketer who played in 22 first-class cricket matches between 1800 and 1810.

Sports became increasingly popular in England and Ireland through the 17th century and there are several references to cricket and horse racing, while bare-knuckle boxing was revived. The interest of gamblers in these sports gave rise to professionalism. The first known attempts to organise football took place in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cricket in Sussex</span>

Cricket in Sussex refers to the sport of cricket in relation to its participation and history within Sussex, England. One of the most popular sports in Sussex, it is commonly believed that cricket was developed in Sussex and the neighbouring counties of Kent and Surrey. Records from 1611 indicate the first time that the sport was documented in Sussex; this is also the first reference to cricket being played by adults. The first reference to women's cricket is also from Sussex and dates from 1677; a match between two Sussex women's teams playing in London is documented from 1747. Formed in 1839, Sussex County Cricket Club is believed to be the oldest professional sports club in the world and is the oldest of the county cricket clubs. Sussex players, including Jem Broadbridge and William Lillywhite were instrumental in bringing about the change from underarm bowling to roundarm bowling, which later developed into overarm bowling. For some time roundarm bowling was referred to as 'Sussex bowling'.

References

  1. ↑ Underdown, p. 4.
  2. ↑ Early Cricket (Pre 1799), International Cricket Council. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  3. ↑ A brief history of cricket, CricInfo. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  4. ↑ McCann, p. xxx.
  5. 1 2 McCann, p. lxiii.
  6. ↑ Miscellaneous-class matches played by Sussex (pre county club), CricketArchive. Retrieved 2024-06-16. (subscription required)
  7. 1 2 Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (1981) A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863, p. 15. Nottingham: Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. (Available online. Retrieved 2022-04-02.)
  8. ↑ First-class matches played by Brighton (Sussex), CricketArchive. Retrieved 2024-06-16. (subscription required)
  9. ↑ Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (1982) A Guide to First Class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles, second edition, pp. 4–5. Nottingham: Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. (Available online. Retrieved 2022-04-02.)
  10. ↑ Birley, p. 65.
  11. 1 2 A brief history of Susses, CricInfo. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  12. ↑ First-class matches played by Sussex, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2024-06-16. (subscription required)
  13. ↑ 19th Century Cricket, International Cricket Council. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  14. ↑ W Ayling, CricInfo. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  15. ↑ W Ayling, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2024-06-16. (subscription required)
  16. ↑ Carlaw, pp. 33–34.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.