The Bs

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The Bs was an English cricket team that played in the first half of the 19th century in occasional matches against England and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The team ostensibly consisted of players whose surname began with the letter B, given that there were several top-class players at the time who qualified. A total of 44 players represented the Bs in twelve matches, all rated important, [note 1] between July 1805 and August 1837. They included Thomas Beagley, Lord Frederick Beauclerk, Billy Beldham, John Bennett, Henry Bentley, Jem Broadbridge, and E. H. Budd. Another was Frederick Hervey-Bathurst, whose surname had half a B in it. There were three instances of the team including given men. These were James Lawrell in 1810, Roger Kynaston in 1837, and the outstanding all-rounder John Wells, who played for them in both 1805 and 1810. [5]

Contents

The Bs v England, June 1810

The Bs achieved unwanted fame in June 1810 when they played England at Lord's Old Ground, and were dismissed for only 6 in their second innings, enabling England to win the match by 6 wickets. This is the world record for the lowest innings total in important/first-class cricket. Four of the six runs were scored by John Wells in one hit, and one more by James Lawrell, these being the two given men as only nine Bs could take part. The only B to score a run was Samuel Bridger. [6]

The ACS said "the exceptionally small total might appear to go against the inclusion of this game in the list of 'important' matches". Having said that, they pointed out the fact that the Bs had several players of high quality, so the match "cannot be dismissed as too weak for inclusion". [7]

Overall record

Despite the 1810 setback, the Bs had a reasonable record. They defeated England in 1805, 1822, 1823, and 1824.[ citation needed ]

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 important 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. ↑ "Cricketers who played for The Bs" . CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  6. ↑ "England v The Bs, June 1810" . CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  7. ↑ ACS 1981, p. 6.

Bibliography

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