1822 English cricket season
In the 1822 English cricket season, John Willes brought the roundarm issue to a head and sacrificed his own career in the process; the outstanding batsman James Saunders made his debut in first-class cricket.
Honours
- Most runs[1] – E. H. Budd 354 (HS 87)
- Most wickets[1] – John Sparks 27 (BB 5–?)
Events
- The roundarm issue came to a head in 1822 when, in the MCC v. Kent match at Lord's, John Willes of Kent opened the bowling and was no-balled for using a roundarm action, a style he had attempted to introduce since 1807. Willes promptly withdrew from the match and refused to play again in any important fixture.
- Roundarm was a natural reaction to the growing predominance of batsmen over the age-old underarm style of bowling. Its adherents argued that the legalisation of roundarm was essential to restore the balance between batting and bowling. However, high-scoring matches were still comparatively rare owing to vagaries in pitch conditions.
- 9 first-class matches were recorded in 1822:
- 20–21 May — Cambridge University v Cambridge Town Club @ University Ground, Cambridge[2]
- 10–11 June — MCC First XII v MCC Second XII @ Lord's Cricket Ground[3]
- 24 June — MCC First XI v MCC Second XI @ Lord's Cricket Ground[4]
- 27–28 June — Godalming v MCC @ The Burys, Godalming[5]
- 1–2 July — MCC v Godalming @ Lord's Cricket Ground[6]
- 8–10 July — Gentlemen v Players @ Lord's Cricket Ground[7]
- 15–16 July — MCC v Kent @ Lord's Cricket Ground[8]
- 25–27 July — Kent v MCC @ West Kent CC, Chislehurst[9]
- 12–14 August — All-England v The Bs @ Lord's Cricket Ground[10]
Debutants
1822 debutants included:
- Horace Bates (Kent)
- John Bayley (Surrey/MCC)
- Robert Broadbridge (Sussex)
- Percyvall Dyke (Kent)
- John Evans (Kent)
- James Grinham (Sussex)
- James Jordan (Kent)
- Edward Knight (Hampshire)
- James Ladbroke (Sussex)
- W Peto (Surrey)
- James Saunders (Sussex)
- William Henry Sewell (MCC)
References
- ^ a b Note that scorecards created in the first quarter of the 19th century are not necessarily accurate or complete; therefore any summary of runs, wickets or catches can only represent the known totals and computation of averages is ineffectual.
- ^ CricketArchive – match scorecard.
- ^ Haygarth, p.453.
- ^ Haygarth, p.454.
- ^ CricketArchive – match scorecard.
- ^ Haygarth, p.455.
- ^ Haygarth, p.456.
- ^ Haygarth, p.458.
- ^ Haygarth, p.460.
- ^ Haygarth, p.463.
Bibliography
- Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite.
Additional reading
- ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
- Altham, H. S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin.
- Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. Aurum.
- Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. Eyre & Spottiswoode.
- Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.