1810 English cricket season explained

Previous Year:	1809
Previous Tournament:	1809 English cricket season
Next Year:	1811
Next Tournament:	1811 English cricket season

In the 1810 English cricket season, William Ward made his top-class debut and The Bs were dismissed for a total of only 6.

Honours

• Most runs^[1] – William Lambert 396 (HS 132*)
• Most wickets^[1] – William Lambert 31

Events

• The Bs were bowled out for 6 in the second innings of their match against England at Lord's Old Ground on 14 June: the innings contained only three scoring strokes, with E. H. Budd unable to bat due to injury. This total of 6 remains the record for the lowest innings total in top-class cricket.
• The match in August between Captain Blagrave's XI and Colonel Byng's XI is the last known to have been played on Lord's Old Ground.
• An American visitor drew a sharp distinction between cricket as played in England and "our cricket", referring especially to the "old long low wicket" still used in America.^[2]
• The impact of the Napoleonic War had been felt by cricket since 1797, when inter-county matches simply ceased, and there had been a steady decline in both number and quality of major matches during the first decade of the 19th century until they became few and far between after 1810. Nevertheless, the impact of this war was less severe than that of the Seven Years' War because of the existence this time of MCC and other well-organised clubs like Brighton and Montpelier. These clubs managed to co-ordinate cricket activities during the war emergency and, as it were, keep the game going. Only 7 top-class matches were recorded in 1810:
  • 29–31 May — Lord F Beauclerk's XI v E Bligh's XI @ Lord's Old Ground^[3]
  • 12–14 June — All-England v The Bs @ Lord's Old Ground^[4]
  • 19–21 June — All-England v Surrey @ Lord's Old Ground^[5]
  • 2–4 July — Over 38 v Under 38 @ Lord's Old Ground^[5]
  • 16–18 July — All-England v Surrey @ Lord's Old Ground^[6]
  • 24–25 July — Over 38 v Under 38 @ Lord's Old Ground^[7]
  • 13–15 August — Captain Blagrave's XI v Colonel Byng's XI @ Lord's Old Ground^[8]

Debutants

1810 debutants included:

• William Ward (MCC)
• John Bowyer (Surrey)
• James Sherman (Surrey)

Bibliography

• Book: Bowen, Rowland . Rowland Bowen . Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development . 1970 . Eyre & Spottiswoode .
• Book: Haygarth, Arthur . Arthur Haygarth . Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826) . 1862 . Lillywhite .

Further reading

• Book: ACS . Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians . A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863 . 1981 . ACS . Nottingham .
• Book: Altham, H. S. . Harry Altham . A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914) . 1962 . George Allen & Unwin .
• Book: Birley, Derek . Derek Birley . A Social History of English Cricket . 1999 . Aurum .
• Book: Major, John . John Major . More Than A Game . 2007 . HarperCollins .

Notes and References

1. 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.
2. Bowen, p.269.
3. Haygarth, p.357.
4. Haygarth, p.358.
5. Haygarth, p.359.
6. Haygarth, p.360.
7. Haygarth, p.362.
8. Haygarth, p.363.