Wilburton is a small village of just over 1,000 inhabitants, situated in Cambridgeshire, England. It is 6 miles south west of Ely. While nominally an agricultural village, many residents work in Cambridge, Ely or London.
Samuel Moses James Woods was an Australian sportsman who represented both Australia and England at Test cricket, and appeared thirteen times for England at rugby union, including five times as captain. He also played at county level in England at both soccer and hockey. At cricket—his primary sport—he played over four hundred first-class matches in a twenty-four-year career. The majority of these matches were for his county side, Somerset, whom he captained from 1894 to 1906. A. A. Thomson described him thus: "Sammy ... radiated such elemental force in hard hitting, fast bowling and electrical fielding that he might have been the forerunner of Sir Learie Constantine."
Stretham is a village and civil parish 4 miles (6 km) south-south-west of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, about 74 miles (119 km) by road from London. Its main attraction is Stretham Old Engine, a steam-powered pump used to drain the fens. The pump is still in use today although converted to electric power. It has open days throughout the year.
John Lindsay Bryan was an English schoolteacher and cricketer who played for Cambridge University and Kent County Cricket Club. Bryan served in the British Army in both World War I and World War II and won the Military Cross in 1918.
Chesterton is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the splitting up of the three member Cambridgeshire constituency into three single member divisions in 1885. The seat was abolished in 1918 when Cambridgeshire was recreated as a single-member constituency.
The Ely and St Ives Railway was a railway company that opened a line between those places in 1878. It was an extension of the privately promoted Ely, Haddenham & Sutton Railway that had opened in 1866. It was a standard gauge single track. The line was worked by the neighbouring Great Eastern Railway but it was never profitable. The development of road transport services in the 1920s caused a steep decline in use of the line, and the passenger service was withdrawn in 1931. A goods service continued, but the line closed completely in 1964. No railway activity takes place on the route now.
Amyas Evelyn Giles Baring, known as Giles Baring, was an English first-class cricketer, who was mostly associated as a fast bowler with Hampshire before the Second World War.
Anthony John Anstruther Wilkinson was an English barrister and amateur first-class cricketer.
Cricket, and hence English amateur cricket, probably began in England during the medieval period but the earliest known reference concerns the game being played c.1550 by children on a plot of land at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surrey. It is generally believed that cricket was originally a children's game as it is not until the beginning of the 17th century that reports can be found of adult participation.
Haddenham railway station was a station in Haddenham, Cambridgeshire. It was first opened in 1866 by the Ely, Haddenham and Sutton Railway. It closed to passengers in 1931 through it continued to be served by occasional passenger excursion trains until 1958 and goods trains until full closure in 1964.
Arthur William Trollope Daniel, was an English all-round sportsman and amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1861 to 1869.
Malcolm Douglas Lyon, generally known as Dar Lyon was an English first-class cricketer who played for Somerset County Cricket Club through the 1920s. He was a right-handed top order batsman known for his beautiful driving who occasionally captained and kept wicket for the county.
Walter Norman Powys was an English first-class cricketer. He played mostly for Cambridge University Cricket Club in first-class cricket and was most renowned for his exploits on his first-class debut, when he took 13 wickets, which included innings figures of 9 for 42. These remain as of 2023 the fifth-best innings bowling figures on debut in first-class cricket.
Grunty Fen is a fen and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wilburton, in the East Cambridgeshire district, in Cambridgeshire, England. It is 4 miles south west of Ely. In 1931 the parish had a population of 95.
Amateur status had a special meaning in English cricket. The amateur in this context was not merely someone who played cricket in his spare time but a particular type of first-class cricketer who existed officially until 1962, when the distinction between amateurs and professionals was abolished and all first-class players became nominally professional.
Robert Christian Ramsay was an English-born pastoralist and businessman who worked in Queensland, Australia. During the late 1880s, he was also an amateur cricketer who played for Harrow, Cambridge University and Somerset. In 1882, he also played for the Gentlemen of England under W.G. Grace.
Edward Tyrwhitt Drake was an English clergyman and first-class cricketer who played for Cambridge University, the Gentlemen, All-England, the Marylebone Cricket Club and other amateur sides between 1853 and 1873. He and other members of his extended family are often recorded by the double-barrelled surname of "Tyrwhitt-Drake". He was born at Bucknell, near Bicester, Oxfordshire and died at Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
Frederick Lee was an English barrister and a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Cambridge University, Surrey and Middlesex, plus other amateur sides, in the 1860s. He was born in Finsbury, London and died at Streatham, also in London.
Through the Napoleonic Wars, county cricket virtually died as cricket was impacted by losses of investment and manpower.
