1801 English cricket season
1801 was the 15th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The famous batsman William Lambert made his debut in important matches.
Honours
- Most runs[1] – Robert Robinson 141 (HS 55)
- Most wickets[1] – Lord Frederick Beauclerk 13
Events
- Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) made revisions to the Laws of Cricket which were republished in their entirety.[2]
- Thomas Boxall published the earliest known instructional book on cricket called Rules and Instructions for Playing at the Game of Cricket.[3]
- Cricket was by now feeling the impact of Great Britain's war against the Napoleonic Empire through a loss of investment which drastically reduced the number of first-class matches. Only four matches are recognised as first-class in 1801:
- 18 May — MCC v Thursday Club @ Lord's Old Ground[4]
- 24–25 June — All-England v Surrey @ Lord's Old Ground[5]
- 6–7 July — W Turner's XI v T Mellish's XI @ Lord's Old Ground[6]
- 20–21 July — All-England v Surrey @ Lord's Old Ground[7]
- William Lambert made his first-class debut playing for Surrey against All-England at Lord's on 20 July. He became "one of the most successful cricketers that has ever yet appeared, excelling as he did in batting, bowling, fielding, keeping wicket, and also single wicket playing".[7]
Debutants
1801 debutants included:
- Henry Burrows (Middlesex)
- William Lambert (Surrey)
- Thomas Onslow (Surrey)
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.
- ^ Haygarth, p. 284–285
- ^ Bowen, p.268.
- ^ Haygarth, p.285–286.
- ^ Haygarth, p.287.
- ^ Haygarth, p.287–288.
- ^ a b Haygarth, p.289.
Bibliography
- Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite.
Further 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.
- Britcher, Samuel, A list of all the principal Matches of Cricket that have been played (1790 to 1805), annual series
- Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.
External links
- Leach, John (2008). "Classification of cricket matches from 1697 to 1825". Stumpsite. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
- Collins, A. R. (2016). "Historical Calendar". Dr A. R. Collins.