Facsimiles
Volume 1
Price: £5 SPECIAL OFFERVolume 1 covers the period of cricket history from 1746-1826. 556 pages detail more than 750 scores, 200 biographies/obituaries with another 40 pages of information. Amongst the contents, all the scorecards of the recorded matches played on the original Lord’s ground, Dorset Fields, are found, together with Hambledon’s encounters when they still influenced the game. Byron’s first match at Harrow is chronicled with biographies of such cracks as Lambert, Broadbridge, Lumpy Stevens and David Harris. A copy of the Star and Garter laws of 1744 and all the changes up to 1818 are described, plus details of the single wicket matches that were so popular then. The exploits of characters such as “Silver Billy” Beldham, Frederick Beauclerk and Squire Osbaldeston abound in what is the most interesting and informative book written about the game.
Volume 2
Price: £5 SPECIAL OFFERVolume 2 covers the period 1827-1840. 600 pages detail more than 800 scores, with 132 biographies/obituaries and much more historical information. Read about the advent of round arm bowling and the Sussex v. England trial matches when Lillywhite and Broadbridge changed the face of the game. The Sussex bowlers so dominated the era that the England team refused to play them unless they changed their “unfair” tactics! A team from Middlesex played their first match and Fuller Pilch dominated the batting stars of the day. Biographies of players include Felix, Mynn, Box, and Martingell. Pilch won “The Championship of All England” in a single wicket encounter with Marsden. The laws of cricket between 1828 and 1838 are chronicled.
Volume 3
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 3 is the rarest and originals now command about £400. Its 688 pages cover the exciting period of 1841-1848. Readers will find the scores of all the first class and many other matches, as well as biographies of all players of note who made their debuts at Lord’s during the period. These include Wisden, Parr and Haygarth himself. During the period William Clarke formed the All England Eleven which travelled the country playing against local twenty-twos. Kennington Oval, Fenner’s and the Brunswick Ground at Hove were opened. I Zingari was founded and Canterbury Week commenced. Benefit matches were played for the celebrated Sussex trio of Lillywhite, Box and Brown. Important games were played on now forgotten grounds such as Antelope, Auberies, Beehive, Copenhagen, Hanover and Montpelier. The telegraph was introduced at Lord’s and the famous match in Tom Brown’s Schooldays was played at Rugby.
Volume 4
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 4 (1849-1854) has 688 pages and recounts many of the early personalities as they play their last games. The 900 matches, include an account of Pilch scoring a duck against 18 of Tunbridge Wells which also saw the wicket-keeper, Wenman, suffer a smilar fate in both innings! Felix scored 31 for Horsham whilst William Lillywhite, the “Nonpareil”, was taken ill in his final match at Lord’s after opening the bowling at the age of 6l! E.H. Budd was 67 and in his 51st season when he appeared at Purton, Wiltshire. Benefits and 122 biographies abound regarding players such as Cæsar, Caffyn, three Lillywhites, Martingell, V.E. Walker and the fast bowler, Willsher. In 1849 the scoreboard was introduced at The Oval. Wisden, already a top flight player, emerged as an astute businessman. With Parr he built and managed his own cricket ground at Leamington, set up the United England Eleven with Dean after disagreements with Clarke, the patriarchal figure at the head of the All England Eleven, and established, in 1850, his famous cricketing business. As a player, appearing for The North, he clean bowled all ten of The South’s batsmen in their second innings, a feat still not matched in any game of significance. He also scored a 100 for Sussex at Tunbridge Wells, a rare achievement in a period when a score of three figures was exceptional.
Volume 5
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 5, with 485 pages, was the first to acknowledge Haygarth as compiler. Produced “at the sole cost of the Marylebone Club” it ended his long search for a new financier. It has 288 biographical entries, more than any previous volume and 550 scores from 1855 1857. This period saw the re formation of Sussex CCC and the Bramall Lane ground opened in Sheffield. Wisden scored 148 in the first match at that ground, the only first class century in 1855. The scores include details of the performances of 10 professional wandering elevens as the game expanded throughout the country. The first Gentlemen v Players match at the Oval was played, a game in which Haygarth himself played. He also became one of the few amateur players to play successfully for one of the professional elevens. Lord’s was said to have the quickest wicket in England but also produced more shooters! Overseas matches from Australia and Canada are also recorded for the first time and we see inaugural encounters between Marlborough, Cheltenham and Rugby schools.
Volume 6
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 6 saw the MCC realise the value of Haygarth’s work and launch a fast track publishing programme. Just after taking over publication it produced its second volume. The book expanded to 517 pages and this has 123 biographical entries including the famous Cambridgeshire batsman Carpenter, the best batsman in England, and two of Middlesex’s famous early players, the brothers Walker. Covering 1858 1860, it collates 550 scores. This was a vital period in cricket’s history as it saw the first overseas tour when Parr took a team to the United States and Canada. The team was undefeated and in one of the games Wisden took six wickets in six balls. Kent CCC was established in 1859. Pilch can be found umpiring at Lord’s with Sussex’s John Lillywhite in the Middlesex side. There was concern that too many runs were being scored. Cricket was becoming more popular than ever as evidenced by the growth of wandering sides. In addition to I Zingari, teams such as Active Fleas, Jolly Dogs, Idle Boys, Fossils and Incapables abound together with I Lazaroni and I Vagabondi. A poem, Harrow to Eton, is supposedly by Lord Byron.
Volume 7
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 7 contains another 450 scores and more than 150 biographical references, on 457 pages, together with a fascinating essay on The Antiquity of Cricket which details the first accepted reference to the great game at Guildford. Covering 1861 1862 the game’s growth is emphasised by the description of England’s first tour to Australia. Benefits abound for such luminaries as James Grundy, Henry Royston, John Selby, W.H. Fryer and Cris Tinley. Charles Absolon took 18 wickets in an innings and seven Walkers appeared in one eleven. The famous ‘cripple match’ where the ‘one arms’ beat the ‘one legs’ was played at this time and new ‘telegraphs’ were introduced at both The Oval and Lord’s. James Love's renowned poem about Kent is featured in the introduction. Biographies include Charles Alcock, the father of English Sport, Sussex’s James Dean and James Lillywhite, Roger Iddison and E.M. Grace. The latter hit 241 for Clifton against 16 of Bristol Grammar School. The exploits of the Band of Brothers and the Free Foresters are all to be seen together with many Australian matches as the game took hold on the other side of the world.
Volume 8
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 8 was the fourth published by the MCC and covers 1863 1864. It contains more references than any previous volume. Its 541 pages document the arrival of WG Grace to the cricket world when aged 15 he scored his first century, 170 against Gentlemen of Sussex. Even at this early stage in his career there was a testimonial for him and details of other benefits can be found in favour of Julius Cæsar, F.P. Miller, James Southerton and Thomas Hearne. England toured Australia and New Zealand, John Wisden became Secretary of the Cricketers’ Benefit Fund and the MCC, who enlarged the pavilion, became the owner of Lord’s. It was a time of great expansion in the game with the current structures of Middlesex, Hampshire, Sussex, Warwickshire, Yorkshire and Lancashire County Cricket Clubs coming into being. Six other counties, not now first class, also commenced operations as did both the Uppingham and Rossall schools. The saddest item describes the dissolution of the Hambledon Club. There were many disputes, mostly over money, between the various professional elevens. Surrey and George Parr fell out and Sussex and the MCC disagreed with unfortunate results. Biographies include WG Grace, Arthur Haygarth’s brother Francis, A.N. Hornby and the great Alfred Shaw, perhaps the most miserly bowler of all time.
Volume 9
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 9 again covers just two years, 1865 and 1866, but the size increased by over 100 pages to 651. The M.C.C. were the publishers for the fifth time as W.G. Grace confirmed his domination of the cricket world particularly with 224 for England against Surrey and 173 for The Gentlemen of the South against the Players counterparts, both at the Oval. During the former match he famously went to Crystal Palace and won the National Olympian Association 440 yard hurdle race! There were benefits for such luminaries as Tom Box, Roger Iddison, Thomas Sherman and interestingly ‘Disaffected Yorkshire Players’. The proposed Australian tour was postponed and there was debate as to What is a Gentleman. MCC made an appeal to members for pictures to start their famous collection and bowling analyses were regularly recorded for the first time. Haygarth recorded the standards for inserting matches in his volumes. Biographies include Charles Absolom, Henry Charlwood, three Graces, E.M., H.M. and W.G., and Fred Ponsonby.
Volume 10
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 10 covers 1867 1868 and contains 668 pages and details of 650 scores and 127 biographies. The latter includes such notables as George Frederick Grace, one of the famous clan who died young, Lord Harris of Kent, Ephraim Lockwood the famous Yorkshire batsman, and Mullagh the Australian Aborigine cricketer who made such an impact on his team’s tour. All the scores of that tour are included as well as details of matches in Canada, United States, Germany, Ireland, and Australia. Matches such as The Handsome v. The Ugly and Julius Cæsar’s benefit game abound. Yorkshire did not lose a match and Cambridgeshire played their last first class match. W.G. Grace scored a century in each innings in one encounter and a double century in another as he continued to rewrite the history books. The Chelmsford wicket was described as the worst ever. More benefit matches were played as the professionals began to realise this was a good source of funds. There are lists of family teams and clowns’ elevens. The list is endless with more information than ever before.
Volume 11
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 11 covers the years 1869 1870 and was published the same year as the previous volume in 1878 again by the M.C.C. It has 540 pages and is the thinnest, because of the Marylebone Club imposing restrictions on the length of the publication, of all the volumes. However it contains another 550 scores and 118 biographies and again more general historical information than the earlier volumes. Oxford University Cricket Club was formed. Benefits were arranged for 22 players including George Anderson, Henry Jupp, C.H. Ellis, W.H. Fryer and Edwin Stephenson. The Grace family began to dominate events. All three brothers hit scores of over 150 with as might be expected W.G. carrying out the feat more often than his brothers, four times, while E.M. and G.F. could only manage three between them. W.G. played his first M.C.C. game and although he carried his bat twice in the season he was also dismissed for a pair. There were still rows going on such as the northern players boycotting southern games and Middlesex not talking to Surrey. The All England XI played 35 matches and other professional XIs travelled the country promoting the game as it never had been before, or again.
Volume 12
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 12 This book with 968 pages is nearly double the size of the majority of the previous volumes and covers three years (1871-73). There are 950 scores which include virtually all the games involving the rival All England Eleven and The United South of England Elevens, over 200 I Zingari and M.C.C. scores, together with all the North v. South encounters. With no official County tournament the M.C.C. proposed and started a County Cup which was only accepted by three counties, Kent, Middlesex and Sussex. W.G. Grace exceeded 150 runs twelve times, three times more than anyone else, and scored the first inter county century at Trent Bridge. There were overseas tours to America and Australia. Cambridge University moved from Parker’s Piece to Fenner’s whilst at Lord’s, perhaps for the first time, a tarpaulin was put over the wickets to keep them dry. Biographies number more than ever before, and include the Hearnes, W.R. Gilbert, the Lytteltons, W.W. Read and John Selby. Benefits are recorded for Tom Box, William Clarke, Roger Iddison, Henry Jupp, John Lillywhite, George Parr and many others. The lists of professionals engaged at the various grounds amongst countless historical items makes this book the most fascinating so far produced.
Volume 13
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 13 Haygarth’s researches it seemed were now being brought into the public gaze thick and fast but after this volume the MCC withdrew their support owing to continual losses with each volume. This was the largest book so far with 1184 pages covering just three years, 1874 to 1876. There are thirteen pages of errata and addenda to the previous volumes. There are more than 300 biographical entries including the writer and gentleman cricketer W.A. Bettesworth, batsman Ivo Bligh, J.E.K. Studd, one of the famous dynasty, and also one of the great wicketkeepers, Thomas Box, collapsed and died at Prince’s. There is a song about I Zingari and W.G. Grace twelve times exceeded 150 runs in an innings and in one of them went on to score 400 with 22 fielders! Richard Daft had a benefit and a new pavilion was erected at Fenner’s. Surrey purchased the lease of The Oval, The Civil Service left Battersea Park and Bedfordshire CCC was formed. Haygarth was devastated when the MCC refused to publish further volumes and subsequently rarely visited Lord’s for many years.
Volume 14
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 14 The MCC delayed the publication of this last Haygarth volume until 1895 - a cruel 15 years after the previous book. This is the largest book with a page count of 1276 and covers only two years (1877 & 78). There are 95 pages of errata and addenda and 135 pages of ‘Curiosities of Cricket’ which is similar to the section in current Wisden’s recently revived by Matthew Engel. There are 950 scores which include many overseas games. Australia has nearly 100 entries with other interests coming from India, South Africa, Ireland, Bermuda, Canada, New Zealand, West Indies and America. The professional travelling teams again feature prominently as do the famous amateur teams of the period. I Zingari have as many mentions as Australia whilst the Free Foresters play more games than in previous years. The historical sections of the book are considerable with large tracts of text on the origins of the game. The information again appears never ending. There are 400 biographies which is twice as many as any previous volume.
Volume 15
Price: SOLD OUTVolume 15. The famous historian F.S. Ashley-Cooper was given access to Arthur Haygarth’s extensive manuscripts and at the MCC’s behest in 1925 produced a fifteenth volume. This contains not only biographies of cricketers from 1879 to 1898, which he culled with few alterations or additions from those documents, but also invaluably references to most of the biographies in the previous volumes. He missed a few but generally this alphabetical list provided one of the most useful reference volumes for all cricket historians. The famous names jump out throughout the volume. The first two pages cover Robert Abel, the prolific Surrey batsman and the last references refer to Harding Young of Essex and the Revd. W.A.R. Young of Harrow, Cambridge and Somerset. In between such ‘greats’ as V.F.S. Crawford, R.E. Foster, C.B. Fry, George Hirst, Ranjitsinhji, Thomas Richardson, P.F. Warner, and A.E. Stoddart are all given several pages along with about 1000 other players. The original publication was limited to 500 copies and was the first to be produced with a dustwrapper. The facsimile also has a dustwrapper.
