1811 to 1815 English cricket seasons

1811 to 1815 English cricket seasons

The years from 1811 to 1815 saw the height and climax of the Napoleonic Wars, which had a catastrophic effect on English cricket by taking an increasing toll of the sport's manpower and investment. Only thirteen historically important matches are on record during the five seasons: one in each of 1811, 1812, and 1813; four in 1814, following Napoleon's exile to Elba in April of that year; and six in 1815, five of them after the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June.[note 1]

Lord's Middle Ground was in use for three years from 1811 to 1813, after the lease on Lord's Old Ground expired. The Middle Ground was requisitioned by Parliament as it lay on the route of the Regent's Canal, then under construction, and the present Lord's ground in St John's Wood was opened at the beginning of the 1814 season. Among the leading players of the time were Lord Frederick Beauclerk, Billy Beldham, E. H. Budd, John Hammond, Thomas Howard, William Lambert, George Osbaldeston, and William Ward.

1811 season

Thomas Lord opened his second ground, now known as Lord's Middle Ground, ahead of the 1811 season. His original ground, today called Lord's Old Ground, had been the home of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) since Lord opened it in 1787. Lord decided to relocate in 1811 because of a rise in the Old Ground rent. He removed all of his turf, and relaid it at the Middle Ground, which was on the Eyre Estate in St John's Wood, west of Regent's Park. More precisely, it was in an area called North Bank at the northern end of Lisson Grove, just south of the present Lord's ground.[2] MCC's members were opposed to the change, and the club followed Lord to the Middle Ground with great reluctance. It is a fact that no MCC team took to the field between May 1810 and June 1813.[3]

There is only one match on record in 1811. This was B. Aislabie's XI versus George Osbaldeston's XI, played 8 and 9 July on the Middle Ground. Osbaldeston's XI won by 8 wickets. Thomas Howard, the noted pace bowler, took at least eight wickets in the match for Osbaldeston's XI.[note 2][4][5]

1812 season

As in 1811, only one match is on record in 1812. George Osbaldeston's XI were again involved, their opponents being Lord Frederick Beauclerk's XI. The match was played 15 to 17 June on the Middle Ground, and was drawn. Beauclerk scored 86 of his team's 132 in their first innings. Osbaldeston's XI replied with 89, and Beauclerk's XI then scored 114 for a lead of 157. Osbaldeston's XI had reached 124/6 when time expired. Thomas Howard, this time in Beauclerk's XI, was again the best bowler with eight (bowled only) wickets.[6][7]

1813 season

1813 was a similar story with just one important match on record, but it was also the Middle Ground's final season. The land was requisitioned by Parliament as it lay on the route planned for the Regent's Canal.[8]

The sole important match in 1813 was Beauclerk's XI v E. Bligh's XI, which was played 7–9 June on the Middle Ground. Bligh's XI won by 28 runs. Batting first, Bligh's XI scored 142, largely thanks to an innings of 58* by Robert Robinson. Beauclerk's XI replied with 116 (Budd 44), and then dismissed Bligh's XI for 83. Needing 110 to win, Beauclerk's XI were handicapped by the loss of two batsmen who had been injured, and they were all out for 81.[9][10]

Because of the war, cricket was by this time facing a crisis, and the ACS said "the game was all but dead".[11] On 17 September 1813, the Nottingham Review commented: "The manly and athletic game at cricket for which the boys of Sherwood have been so long and so justly famed, it was thought, had fallen into disuse, if not disgrace...."[11]

With closure of the Middle Ground certain, Thomas Lord contacted the Eyre family, erstwhile owners of the ground, and persuaded them to lease to him another parcel of land in St John's Wood, about half a mile further north at a place called North Bank. In the winter of 1813–14, Lord again had his turf literally dug up, and removed to the new site.[12][13]

1814 season

Lord's new ground had a duck pond, and also the pronounced slope which still runs diagonally across the field from north to south. In terms of the modern ground, this is from the Grand Stand (north side) down to the Tavern and Mound Stands in the south. The drop is around 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m). Bowlers operating from the Pavilion End are bowling downhill; and uphill from the Nursery End.[14]

Notes

  1. ↑ Any match listed in the ACS' Important Match Guide (1981) is historically important, and therefore of the highest standard, whether or not a scorecard might exist. The same applies to numerous matches discovered by researchers since 1981.[1] For further information, see First-class cricket.
  2. ↑ In this period, dismissal information in scorecards was never comprehensive, and a bowler was only credited with a wicket if the batter was out bowled. If a batter was caught or stumped, only the fielder was credited.

References

  1. ↑ ACS 1981, pp. 1–40.
  2. ↑ Altham & Swanton 1962, pp. 52–53.
  3. ↑ Birley 1999, p. 57.
  4. ↑ Haygarth 1996, p. 365.
  5. ↑ "B. Aislabie's XI v G. Osbaldeston's XI, July 1811". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Haygarth 1996, p. 366.
  7. ↑ "Lord F. Beauclerk's XI v G. Osbaldeston's XI, June 1812". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  8. ↑ Warner 1946, p. 18.
  9. ↑ Haygarth 1996, p. 367.
  10. ↑ "Lord F. Beauclerk's XI v E. Bligh's XI, June 1813". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  11. 1 2 ACS 1981, p. 4.
  12. ↑ Warner 1946, p. 19.
  13. ↑ Altham & Swanton 1962, p. 52.
  14. ↑ Nalwala, Ali Asgar (11 July 2025). "Slope at Lord's Cricket Ground: How an uneven playing field impacts cricket's most iconic venue". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 30 May 2026.

Bibliography

Further reading

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