The All-England Eleven (AEE) was an itinerant all-professional first-class cricket team created in 1846 by Nottinghamshire cricketer William Clarke. Widely known by its acronym AEE, it took advantage of opportunities offered by the newly developed railways to play against local teams throughout Great Britain and made its profit by receiving payments from the home clubs. In 1852, some players broke away from the AEE to form the United All-England Eleven (UEE). Similar enterprises were launched in the following years including the United North of England Eleven (UNEE) and Edgar Willsher's United South of England Eleven (USEE) which became strongly associated with WG Grace.
Clarke, as well as being the manager, was the captain of the AEE team until his death in 1856. He was succeeded by his Nottinghamshire colleague George Parr who agreed that the AEE and UEE should regularly play against each other, something that Clarke would not allow. In 1859, the first England national cricket team was formed as a composite of the AEE and the UEE to tour North America.
With the rise of county cricket and the introduction of international cricket, the travelling elevens lost influence and popularity. The AEE gradually faded from the scene and had disappeared by 1880.
History
William Clarke in 1845.
In the late 1840s, Nottinghamshire CCC player William Clarke recognised that a professional touring eleven could enhance the local and fragmented popularity of cricket.[1] In 1846, he founded what would become known as the "All-England Eleven"[2] as an all-professional team that played a few games in the North of England against more-than-eleven local teams.[3] He originally called his side "Eleven of England".[4] The squad arguably comprised the best English professional players of the time,[3] as well as two nominally "amateur" cricketers, Alfred Mynn and Nicholas Felix.[5] The All-England Eleven was inundated with requests for fixtures [1] and received a payment from its opponents[3] (who could in turn hope for a large attendance). During the following years, helped by the development of railways, the team regularly toured Great Britain, doing much to increase the popularity of the game in areas that had previously not seen high class cricket.
The first overseas English tour, in North America, comprised six "All-England Eleven" players as well as six "United All-England Eleven" professionals.
The players were better paid by Clarke than they were by the Marylebone Cricket Club or the counties, but Clarke, who was captain as well as manager of the team, received by far the largest part of the profit.[3] In 1852 some of the professionals, led by John Wisden and Jemmy Dean, were dissatisfied by Clarke's ungenerous and undemocratic behaviour and sought larger wages. They broke away from the team and created the United All-England Eleven.[6] Other similar teams appeared from the late 1850s.[7]
George Parr led the team after Clarke's death in 1856. From 1857 the two main "All-England Elevens" regularly played against each other.[6] In 1859, six members of each team composed the squad of the first ever overseas touring English team, which played several games in the United States and in Canada.[8]
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William Clarke was an English cricketer and team manager who played first-class cricket from 1826 to 1855. He founded, managed and captained the All-England Eleven. He has been described as "one of certain figures who, in the history of cricket, stand like milestones along the way". Clarke was born at Nottingham and died at Wandsworth in Surrey.
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In English cricket since the first half of the 18th century, various ad hoc teams have been formed for short-term purposes which have been called England to play against, say, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) or an individual county team. The key factor is that they were non-international and there is a significant difference between them and the official England cricket team which takes part in international fixtures. Conceptually, there is evidence of this sort of team being formed, or at least mooted, since the 1730s. They have always been "occasional elevens" but, nevertheless, have invariably been strong sides. A typical example would be a selection consisting of leading players drawn from several county teams.
George Parr was an English cricketer whose first-class career lasted from 1844 to 1870. Known popularly as the "Lion of the North", Parr was a right-handed batsman and bowled occasional right-handed underarm deliveries. Throughout his career he played mainly for Nottinghamshire, and was club captain from 1856 to 1870. He also made occasional appearances for other counties and for Marylebone Cricket Club. He was a stalwart of the All-England Eleven and was captain of the first England touring team, which went to North America in 1859. He also captained England's second tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1864, returning home unbeaten. During this trip he travelled with the team from Liverpool to Melbourne on the SS Great Britain.
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The English cricket team in North America in 1859 was the first ever overseas cricket tour by an English team. The touring team is sometimes referred to as George Parr's XI.
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The United All-England Eleven (UEE) was an English cricket team formed in 1852 by players breaking away from William Clarke's All-England Eleven (AEE). Key UEE players included John Wisden and Jemmy Dean, who became joint secretaries of the team.
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The United North of England Eleven (UNEE) was an itinerant cricket team founded in 1869 by George Freeman and Roger Iddison with the backing of Lord Londesborough who became the team's president. As its name suggests, its purpose was to bring together the best players of England's northern counties and play against all-comers. The team was thus one of several spinoffs from William Clarke's original All-England Eleven (AEE).
The United South of England Eleven (USEE) was an itinerant cricket team founded in November 1864 by Edgar Willsher, as secretary, and John Lillywhite, as treasurer. The USEE had no home venue as its prime purpose, like all similarly named teams of the time, was to operate as a travelling show and bring top-class cricket to places in Great Britain and Ireland which rarely received it. Fourteen USEE matches have been recognised by CricketArchive as first-class, mostly against the rival United North of England Eleven (UNEE). The USEE is estimated to have played 217 "odds" matches as a visiting team against local club sides which generally used 22 players.
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