Richard "Dick" May (died c.1796) was a first-class cricketer who was a well-known bowler for Kent sides in the 1760s and 1770s. May's known first-class career spanned the 1773 and 1780 seasons. His brother Tom May was a noted batsman, also playing for Kent at the same time.
The May brothers often played alongside each other but many scorecards of the period did not note first names or initials, so it is often impossible to distinguish one from the other in some matches, hence his total of 13 first-class appearances, given in CricketArchive, is an estimate. [1]
Scores and Biographies has recorded an old verse about the May brothers: [2]
Tom was for batting, Dick for bowling famed
Very little is known of their personal lives.
Dick May is known to have been a gamekeeper on Sir Horatio Mann’s estate at Bourne Park House. He died in a drunken fit about 1796, when he was middle-aged. His dying request to his friend George Ring was that Ring should kill his favourite dog and bury it with him. [2]
Fuller Pilch was an English first-class cricketer. Described as "the greatest batsman ever known until the appearance of W. G. Grace", the right-handed batsman Pilch played 229 first-class matches between 1820 and 1854 for an assortment of counties, including Kent, Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex, as well as Norfolk and Cambridge Town Club. An early pioneer of batting, Pilch's advert of the "Pilch poke", or art of playing the ball forward, was an early manifestation of modern batting practices.
Richard "Dick" Nyren (c. 1734–1797) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket during the 1760s and 1770s in the heyday of the Hambledon Club. A genuine all-rounder and the earliest known left-hander of note, Nyren was the captain of Hampshire when its team included players like John Small, Thomas Brett and Tom Sueter. Although the records of many matches in which he almost certainly played have been lost, he made 51 known appearances between 1764 and 1784. He was known as the team's "general" on the field and, for a time, acted as the club secretary as well as taking care of matchday catering for many years.
Arthur Haygarth was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians. He played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Sussex between 1844 and 1861, as well as numerous other invitational and representative teams including an England XI and a pre-county Middlesex. A right-handed bat, Haygarth played 136 games now regarded as first-class, scoring 3,042 runs and taking 19 wickets with his part-time bowling. He was educated at Harrow, which had established a rich tradition as a proving ground for cricketers. He served on many MCC committees and was elected a life member in 1864.
David Harris was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1782 to 1798.
Joseph Miller was a noted English cricketer who is generally considered to have been one of the greatest batsmen of the 18th century. He is mostly associated with Kent but also made appearances for All-England and Surrey. First recorded in the 1769 season, Miller made 65 known appearances from then to 1783. He was unquestionably an outstanding batsman and perhaps second only to John Small in the 18th century.
John Frame was an English cricketer and arguably the first great fast bowler in the game's history. His first-class career spanned the 1749 to 1774 English cricket seasons.
John Wood was an English cricketer who played for Kent. His career began in the 1760s before first-class statistics began to be recorded and his known first-class career spans the 1772 to 1783 seasons.
John "Little Joey" Ring was an English cricketer who played for Kent.
1793 was the seventh season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Surrey teams defeated All-England three times.
1795 was the ninth season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The enigmatic Thursday Club made its bow. In Samuel Britcher's opinion, it was the Middlesex county XI.
1822 was the 36th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). John Willes brought the roundarm issue to a head and sacrificed his own career in the process. The outstanding batsman James Saunders made his known first-class debut.
1825 was the 39th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The pavilion at Lord's was destroyed by fire. Many irreplaceable documents which recorded early cricket matches are believed to have been lost. The impact of this upon cricket's history is that it is only since 1825 that surviving records can be viewed with anything like complete confidence. Inter-county matches are recorded for the first time since 1796. Two of the greatest players of the 19th century, William Lillywhite and Ned Wenman, made their first known appearances in important matches.
James "Jem" Broadbridge (1795–1843) was an English professional cricketer who is widely accounted the outstanding all-rounder in England during the 1820s. He is best remembered for his part in the introduction of roundarm bowling. He played mainly for Sussex and made 102 known appearances in first-class cricket from 1814 to 1840. He represented the Players in the Gentlemen v Players series and the South in the North v. South series.
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.
Henry James Tufton, 11th Earl of Thanet was a peer in the peerage of England and a noted English cricketer of the 1790s.
George Ring was an English professional cricketer who made 2 known appearances in first-class cricket matches in 1796. He was the younger brother of Joey Ring.
John Sherman was an English professional cricketer. His first-class career spanned a record-equalling 44 seasons from 1809 to 1852; he shares this record with W G Grace. He was the elder brother of James Sherman and the uncle of Tom Sherman.
Charles Town was an English amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1815 to 1823. Mainly associated with Kent, he made 3 known appearances in first-class matches.
Thomas ("Tom") May was a first-class cricketer who was a well-known batsman for Kent in the 1760s and 1770s. May's known first-class career spanned the 1772 and 1773 seasons.
For the 18th century Kent cricketer, please see John Wood
For the former Durham County Cricket Club cricketer, please see John Wood
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