Middlesex county cricket teams
Encyclopedia
Middlesex county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket
goes back much further than that. Given that the first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford
, it is almost certain that the game had reached Middlesex by the 16th century. Early references to the game in London or Middlesex are often interchangeable and sometimes it is not clear if a particular team represents the city or the county.
See : History of cricket to 1725
. It is believed that the earliest county teams were formed in the aftermath of the Restoration
in 1660.
The first definite mention of cricket in London or Middlesex dates from 1680 and is recorded in Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket by G B Buckley as that book's first entry. The reference "is quite unfit for publication nowadays" but contains, nevertheless, a clear reference to "the two umpires" (it is also the earliest mention of an umpire in what seems to be a cricket connection) and, as Mr Buckley points out, the reference also strongly suggests that the double wicket form of the game was already well known in London.
on 3 July 1707 involving teams from London and Croydon (see The Dawn of Cricket by H T Waghorn
). In 1718, the first reference is found to White Conduit Fields
in Islington
, which later became a very famous London venue.
The earliest reference to a team called Middlesex is on 5 August 1728 when it played London Cricket Club
"in the fields behind the Woolpack, in Islington, near Sadlers Wells, for £50 a side" (see Waghorn).
Middlesex teams occur throughout the 18th century although for long periods the county was secondary to the London Cricket Club
which played at the Artillery Ground
. The Middlesex teams played at various grounds throughout what is now the Greater London area. Islington and Uxbridge were often used but "home matches" were also played on Kennington Common and in Berkshire.
Middlesex was very quick to use the new Lord's Cricket Ground
when it opened in 1787 for the earliest known match there was Middlesex v Essex
on 31 May 1787 (Middlesex won by 93 runs). Lord's was in many ways the making of Middlesex as a major cricket county.
Noted Middlesex players in the 18th century included William Fennex
and Thomas Lord
.
played four matches reported in S&B on p.178-180, with a fifth one in June (S&B, p.184). All five were at Lord’s. The first three were against "the Thursday Club" and the last two were against "Middlesex". Mr Haygarth makes no comment here about team names but it is evident that several players are common to both the Thursday and Middlesex teams.
Mr – Rice (5 appearances), William Barton (4), James Beeston (4), John Goldham (4), Thomas Lord
senior (4), – Sylvester (4), Mr Charles Warren (4), Harry Bridger (3) and – Wheeler (2) all played for both the Thursday and Middlesex teams. The Middlesex teams included T Ray (2), Robert Turner (2) and – Graham (2); Ray also played once for MCC v Thursday. George Shepheard (3), W Beeston (2) and – Dale (2) played only for Thursday and not for Middlesex. Half a dozen others, including recognised players like T Shackle and Mr R Whitehead, played in one game each for one or other team.
What is clear from this is that these two teams are in effect one and the same. All that has happened is that the nomenclature has changed, as it so often did in Georgian times. Furthermore, all the players named above, with the single exception of Bridger who had a short career, are recognised players and so there is no doubt that the team in question was of top-class standard. The problem as so often is what to call it.
The Marylebone Thursday Club, as such, met at Lord's but had no direct connection with the MCC, except that MCC ground staff players like Ray and Sylvester might play for it as given men. The Thursday Club did have county connections with Middlesex and this is why the two are often confused. It seems that the Thursday Club was started by gentlemen cricketers of Middlesex who soon acquired the services of certain Middlesex professionals. As a result, the team was sometimes called the Middlesex XI.
The answer seems to lie in the works of Samuel Britcher
, who was the MCC scorer and so he was, literally, the primary source for these early MCC games. He calls the team "Thursday Club" in the first three matches of 1795 (as does Haygarth) but then refers to "the County of Middlesex" in both the fourth and fifth games on 25 May and 26 June. Haygarth simply uses "Middlesex" for these two. Britcher refers to the "Middlesex Club" from 1796. Note that Middlesex is used by various sources in several matches before 1795.
It is now believed that the club was originally a Thursday Club in the literal sense but that it was understood from the beginning that it considered itself to be representative of Middlesex as a county. It may even have had a Middlesex birth qualification for membership, like Yorkshire CCC so famously had until recently. Very soon, they decided to call themselves the Middlesex county team and so we have here a parallel with Hambledon Club
/Hampshire
.
Middlesex as a county team during the late 18th and early 19th centuries played mainly against quality opposition, especially MCC. The problem re classification is that some Middlesex matches were against minor opponents like Hertfordshire.
There is a further game involving the "Marylebone Thursday Club" on 27 – 30 July 1795 which is reported in FL18. It is against the "Kennington Wednesday Club" and this is a minor match as most of the players, especially on the Kennington side, are unrecognised.
, which included several notable players including the famous V E Walker, who in 1859 became the first player to take 10 wickets in an innings and score a century in the same match.
Middlesex CCC played its initial first-class match versus Sussex CCC at Islington on 6 & 7 June 1864. In the same season, the club was a contender for the title of "Champion County" and is regarded as a first-class team since that season (though numerous earlier Middlesex teams were also first-class).
For the history of Middlesex cricket since the foundation of the county club, see : Middlesex County Cricket Club
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
goes back much further than that. Given that the first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
, it is almost certain that the game had reached Middlesex by the 16th century. Early references to the game in London or Middlesex are often interchangeable and sometimes it is not clear if a particular team represents the city or the county.
See : History of cricket to 1725
17th century
As elsewhere in south east England, cricket became established in Middlesex during the 17th century and the earliest village matches took place before the English Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. It is believed that the earliest county teams were formed in the aftermath of the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
in 1660.
The first definite mention of cricket in London or Middlesex dates from 1680 and is recorded in Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket by G B Buckley as that book's first entry. The reference "is quite unfit for publication nowadays" but contains, nevertheless, a clear reference to "the two umpires" (it is also the earliest mention of an umpire in what seems to be a cricket connection) and, as Mr Buckley points out, the reference also strongly suggests that the double wicket form of the game was already well known in London.
18th century
The earliest known match in Middlesex took place at Lamb's Conduit Field in HolbornHolborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
on 3 July 1707 involving teams from London and Croydon (see The Dawn of Cricket by H T Waghorn
H T Waghorn
Henry Thomas Waghorn , was a cricket statistician and historian. He is best known for his two classic researches into cricket's early history: The Dawn of Cricket and Cricket Scores: 1730 - 1773....
). In 1718, the first reference is found to White Conduit Fields
White Conduit Fields
White Conduit Fields in Islington was an early venue of major cricket matches and the original home of the White Conduit Club, forerunner of MCC...
in Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, which later became a very famous London venue.
The earliest reference to a team called Middlesex is on 5 August 1728 when it played London Cricket Club
London Cricket Club
The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.-Early history of London cricket:...
"in the fields behind the Woolpack, in Islington, near Sadlers Wells, for £50 a side" (see Waghorn).
Middlesex teams occur throughout the 18th century although for long periods the county was secondary to the London Cricket Club
London Cricket Club
The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.-Early history of London cricket:...
which played at the Artillery Ground
Artillery Ground
The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is one of London's most centrally located cricket grounds, situated just off the City Road immediately north of the City of London...
. The Middlesex teams played at various grounds throughout what is now the Greater London area. Islington and Uxbridge were often used but "home matches" were also played on Kennington Common and in Berkshire.
Middlesex was very quick to use the new Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
when it opened in 1787 for the earliest known match there was Middlesex v Essex
Essex county cricket teams
Essex county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. It is almost certain that cricket reached Essex by the 16th century and that it developed during the 17th century with inter-parish matches being...
on 31 May 1787 (Middlesex won by 93 runs). Lord's was in many ways the making of Middlesex as a major cricket county.
Noted Middlesex players in the 18th century included William Fennex
William Fennex
William Fennex was a famous English cricketer. He was a noted all-rounder and right arm fast bowler...
and Thomas Lord
Thomas Lord
Thomas Lord was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1787 to 1802. He made a brief comeback, playing in one further match in 1815. Overall, Lord made 90 known appearances in first-class cricket...
.
The Thursday Club
In May 1795, MCCMarylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
played four matches reported in S&B on p.178-180, with a fifth one in June (S&B, p.184). All five were at Lord’s. The first three were against "the Thursday Club" and the last two were against "Middlesex". Mr Haygarth makes no comment here about team names but it is evident that several players are common to both the Thursday and Middlesex teams.
Mr – Rice (5 appearances), William Barton (4), James Beeston (4), John Goldham (4), Thomas Lord
Thomas Lord
Thomas Lord was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1787 to 1802. He made a brief comeback, playing in one further match in 1815. Overall, Lord made 90 known appearances in first-class cricket...
senior (4), – Sylvester (4), Mr Charles Warren (4), Harry Bridger (3) and – Wheeler (2) all played for both the Thursday and Middlesex teams. The Middlesex teams included T Ray (2), Robert Turner (2) and – Graham (2); Ray also played once for MCC v Thursday. George Shepheard (3), W Beeston (2) and – Dale (2) played only for Thursday and not for Middlesex. Half a dozen others, including recognised players like T Shackle and Mr R Whitehead, played in one game each for one or other team.
What is clear from this is that these two teams are in effect one and the same. All that has happened is that the nomenclature has changed, as it so often did in Georgian times. Furthermore, all the players named above, with the single exception of Bridger who had a short career, are recognised players and so there is no doubt that the team in question was of top-class standard. The problem as so often is what to call it.
The Marylebone Thursday Club, as such, met at Lord's but had no direct connection with the MCC, except that MCC ground staff players like Ray and Sylvester might play for it as given men. The Thursday Club did have county connections with Middlesex and this is why the two are often confused. It seems that the Thursday Club was started by gentlemen cricketers of Middlesex who soon acquired the services of certain Middlesex professionals. As a result, the team was sometimes called the Middlesex XI.
The answer seems to lie in the works of Samuel Britcher
Samuel Britcher
Samuel Britcher was a cricket scorer and archivist who recorded the full scorecards of numerous matches played in the early years of Marylebone Cricket Club after its official foundation during the 1787 English cricket season.Britcher is believed to have been MCC's first official scorer and he...
, who was the MCC scorer and so he was, literally, the primary source for these early MCC games. He calls the team "Thursday Club" in the first three matches of 1795 (as does Haygarth) but then refers to "the County of Middlesex" in both the fourth and fifth games on 25 May and 26 June. Haygarth simply uses "Middlesex" for these two. Britcher refers to the "Middlesex Club" from 1796. Note that Middlesex is used by various sources in several matches before 1795.
It is now believed that the club was originally a Thursday Club in the literal sense but that it was understood from the beginning that it considered itself to be representative of Middlesex as a county. It may even have had a Middlesex birth qualification for membership, like Yorkshire CCC so famously had until recently. Very soon, they decided to call themselves the Middlesex county team and so we have here a parallel with Hambledon Club
Hambledon Club
The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England.-Foundation:...
/Hampshire
Hampshire county cricket teams
Hampshire county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that...
.
Middlesex as a county team during the late 18th and early 19th centuries played mainly against quality opposition, especially MCC. The problem re classification is that some Middlesex matches were against minor opponents like Hertfordshire.
There is a further game involving the "Marylebone Thursday Club" on 27 – 30 July 1795 which is reported in FL18. It is against the "Kennington Wednesday Club" and this is a minor match as most of the players, especially on the Kennington side, are unrecognised.
19th century
The present Middlesex CCC was informally founded on 15 December 1863 at a meeting in the London Tavern. Formal constitution took place on 2 February 1864. The creation of the club was largely through the efforts of the Walker family of SouthgateThe Walkers of Southgate
The Walkers of Southgate were a cricketing family who lived at Arnos Grove Estate in Southgate, Middlesex. The family fortune was built through the brewing company Taylor Walker, and the seven brothers were all sent to Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge...
, which included several notable players including the famous V E Walker, who in 1859 became the first player to take 10 wickets in an innings and score a century in the same match.
Middlesex CCC played its initial first-class match versus Sussex CCC at Islington on 6 & 7 June 1864. In the same season, the club was a contender for the title of "Champion County" and is regarded as a first-class team since that season (though numerous earlier Middlesex teams were also first-class).
For the history of Middlesex cricket since the foundation of the county club, see : Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...