Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, except for the years 1826, 1828, 1915–1918 (due to World War I) and 1940–1945 (due to World War II). In essence, it was a match between teams consisting of

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

("Gentlemen") and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

cricketers ("Players") that reflected the English class structure of the 19th century: the Players were

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

cricketers who earned their living through the game, whilst the Gentlemen were middle- and

upper-class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

cricketers, usually products of the

public school system State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

, who were unpaid. For the matches, the Players were paid

wage A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', ''prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remuner ...

s by their county clubs and/or fees by the match organisers, while the Gentlemen nominally only claimed

expenses An expense is an item requiring an outflow of money, or any form of fortune in general, to another person or group as payment for an item, service, or other category of costs. For a tenant, rent is an expense. For students or parents, tuition is a ...

. However, while rules to distinguish amateurs from professionals were established by the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC), the system of allowable expenses was both controversial and complex, leading to some leading amateurs being paid more for playing cricket than any professional. The fixture struggled to gain public interest during the mid-19th century, as most matches ended with the Players defeating the Gentlemen by large margins: various efforts to improve competitiveness, including different-sized

wicket In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...

s for each team, odds matches, and a system of

given men A given is a statement or a condition assumed to be true or known, often to explain or give an example of something; for related topics, see: * Presumption (in law) * Axiom (in formal logic) * Givenness (in discourse) * Conditional probability, u ...

(in which the Players would loan one or more of their best players to the Gentlemen) were generally unsuccessful, with the Players continuing to win most matches until later in the century. The fixtures would become far more competitive and gain prestige with the rise and subsequent career of

W. G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played first-class cricket for a record-equal ...

, who played for the Gentlemen with great success. During the period from 1865 to 1914, the fixture was seen as one of the highlights of the

cricket season Cricket seasons are the times of the year when cricket is played. Because top-class cricket is almost always played outdoors, on uncovered pitches, and rain prevents play, the seasons in each country are geared to coincide with the driest months ...

, but the increasing popularity of international

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

(which began in 1877) saw its interest begin to decline, and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the concepts of amateurism and selecting teams based on social class were seen as increasingly anachronistic. The fixture was discontinued on 31 January 1963 after the MCC abolished amateur status, with all first-class cricketers becoming nominally professionals (or "Players"): with this, the official distinction between the teams (and the ''raison d'etre'' for the fixture) ceased to exist. No direct substitute was implemented: instead, England's first domestic

one day cricket Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket or white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty ...

competition began that summer.

Background

In the introduction to his history of the fixture,

Pelham Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport in ...

calls it "the most time-honoured of all representative matches" and the "standard" match in English domestic cricket. Warner played for the

Gentlemen A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

24 times between 1897 and 1919. The fixture often confirmed the commonly held view of an imbalance between amateur and professional: amateurs tended to be batsmen first and foremost, hence there were few good amateur bowlers, while the Players could nearly always field a strong bowling side. The match was played over three days on all but a handful of occasions throughout its history. The most frequent venue for the match was

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

, but a number of other grounds were used, notably

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

and

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

: it was at Scarborough that the last Gentlemen v Players game was played in September 1962. The same format of amateurs playing professionals was used in a number of other fixtures, some of which were given first-class status (for example, "Gentlemen of Nottinghamshire v Players of Nottinghamshire"), but these matches became less common after the beginning of the 20th century, with the last such game being "Gentlemen of the South v Players of the South" in 1920. Afterwards, all first-class Gentlemen v Players matches were between teams known simply by those names.

First matches

The inaugural fixture was a three-day match at the original Lord's ground from 7 to 9 July 1806. It was soon followed by the second, held on the same ground from 21 to 25 July. In the first match, the Gentlemen played with two

, who were the two outstanding professionals of the day, Billy Beldham and William Lambert. Lambert made a significant contribution with the bat, and the Gentlemen won by an innings and 14 runs. For the return match, the Gentlemen retained Lambert, while Beldham played for the Players. The Gentlemen won a low-scoring game by 82 runs. Lambert was again a key factor in their success, although the leading amateur

Lord Frederick Beauclerk The Reverend Lord Frederick de Vere Beauclerk (8 May 1773 – 22 April 1850), a 19th-century Anglican priest, was an outstanding but controversial English first-class cricketer, the leading "amateur" player of the Napoleonic period. Lord Frede ...

made two good scores. A curiosity of these matches is that they featured the veteran professional Tom Walker and the rookie amateur John Willes: these two players were both credited with devising the roundarm style of bowling, but there is no evidence to suggest they used roundarm in 1806. Described by

H. S. Altham Harry Surtees Altham (30 November 1888 – 11 March 1965) was an English cricketer who became an important figure in the game as an administrator, historian and coach. His ''Wisden'' obituary described him as "among the best known personalities ...

as the "most famous of all domestic matches", the fixture disappeared until 1819. Altham says he does not know why, but the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

must have been a factor, as cricket was in decline from 1810 until after Waterloo in 1815.

Revival

In 1819, the amateurs agreed to play the professionals on equal terms, but lost by six wickets. There was only one run between the sides on first innings, but the Gentlemen collapsed in the second against the bowling of Tom Howard and

John Sherman John Sherman (May 10, 1823October 22, 1900) was an American politician from Ohio throughout the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. A member of the Republican Party, he served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He also served as ...

to be bowled out for 60. This match was held at the "new" Lord's ground, the present one, which had opened in 1814. The fourth match was played at Lord's in June 1820, and the Gentlemen, now with star bowler Howard as a given man, won by 70 runs. The fifth match earned notoriety: it was scheduled to be played at Lord's from 23 to 25 July 1821 but ended on the second day after the Gentlemen conceded. Known as the "Coronation Match" because it celebrated the accession of the unpopular

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

it was described by

Derek Birley Sir Derek Birley (31 May 1926 – 14 May 2002) was a distinguished English educationalist and a prize-winning writer on the social history of sport, particularly cricket. Life and career Born in a mining community in West Yorkshire, Birley attend ...

as "a suitably murky affair". The Gentlemen had batted first and were quickly dismissed for 60, and had to spend a long time in the field through most of the first and second days while the Players steadily built a big lead. At 270 for six, the Gentlemen conceded defeat.

Odds on

After the 1821 match, the fixture struggled for many years to regain credibility. Nine of the fourteen matches played from 1824 to 1837 were played at odds: for instance, in the 1836 match, the Gentlemen had eighteen men, and in the 1827 matches, seventeen men. In addition, the 1831 match was arranged as eleven a side, but the Players had only nine men appear, while in 1832, the Gentlemen defended a smaller-than-normal wicket of 22 by 6 inches, and in 1837, in what became known as the "Barn Door Match", the Players defended an oversized wicket of four stumps measuring 36 by 12 inches. The tide turned somewhat in the 1840s, when Alfred Mynn and

Nicholas Felix Nicholas Wanostrocht (5 October 1804 – 3 September 1876), known as Nicholas Felix, was an English amateur "gentleman" cricketer. He was one of the few players who – at his request – was routinely known by his pseudonym, Felix. When his fa ...

were playing for the amateurs: in nine equal terms matches from 1842 to 1849, the Gentlemen won five against three for the Players and one drawn. Once that run of success ended, the Gentlemen lost 23 of the next 25 games up to July 1865 (with a win in 1853 and a draw in 1862).

"Halcyon days of amateur cricket"

According to Harry Altham, the period from about 1860 into the 1880s were the "halcyon days of amateur cricket". This refers in part to the success of cricketers who came through the public schools and universities of the period, but in the main to the achievements of Gentlemen teams who, between 1865 and 1881, won 27 matches against the Players whilst losing only five (seven were drawn). At its height, from 1865 until 1914, the fixture was prestigious though, in terms of quality, it fell far short of Test matches and did not match the rival North v. South fixture. Until 1865, the Gentlemen teams were often very weak compared to the professional Players, and on occasion the fixture had to be arranged on an odds basis (so that the Players eleven took on a greater number of Gentlemen), with different-sized wickets, or with Players being loaned to the Gentlemen. The Gentlemen becoming competitive coincided with the career of

, whose performances were so outstanding that the Gentlemen could enjoy some long-awaited success (their previous win prior to Grace's career had come in 1853).

1919–1946

The prestige of the fixture was in decline through the inter-war years, partly due to social change after the First World War and then during the Great Depression. The main reason was that there was much greater interest in Test cricket and the County Championship. As in the fixture's first half-century, the Gentlemen were not a match for the Players, especially in bowling and fielding, but also in batting as the Players could call on the likes of

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882– 21 December 1963), always known as Jack Hobbs, was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Mast ...

and

Herbert Sutcliffe Herbert Sutcliffe (24 November 1894 – 22 January 1978) was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the tw ...

Post-war social change

Social change after the Second World War led to a reaction against the concept of amateurism in English cricket. The fixture's last season was 1962 when there were two matches. The first was played 18–20 July at Lord's. The Players were captained by

Fred Trueman Frederick Sewards Trueman, (6 February 1931 – 1 July 2006) was an English cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team. He had professional status and later became an author and broadcaster. Acknowled ...

and the Gentlemen by England captain

Ted Dexter Edward Ralph Dexter, (15 May 1935 – 25 August 2021) was an England international cricketer. An aggressive middle-order batsman of ferocious power and a right-arm medium bowler, he captained Sussex and England in the early 1960s. He captaine ...

. The match was halted by rain to end in a draw with the Players looking certain to win. The final edition of the fixture was played on 8, 10 and 11 September 1962 at the

North Marine Road Ground, Scarborough North Marine Road Ground, formerly known as Queen's, is a cricket ground in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Scarborough Cricket Club which hosts the Scarborough Festival and the Yorkshire County Cricket Club plays a s ...

. The Players were again captained by Trueman and the Gentlemen by Mike Smith, standing in for Dexter who was ill.''Wisden 1963'', p. 741.

Final match, Scarborough Festival, 1962

MCC ruling and aftermath

On 31 January 1963, the distinction between amateur and professional players was abolished by the MCC. All first-class cricketers became nominally professional, or effectively "Players", and so there were no more "Gentlemen". With this decision, any ''raison d'etre'' for the Gentlemen v Players fixture ceased to exist, and the series was ended. Charles Williams has described several reports on the subject which were submitted to MCC by its Amateur Status Standing Committee (ASSC), with the MCC committee unanimously agreeing to abolish amateurism. Williams also says while a substitute fixture was sought, it was decided not to pursue this, as the new Gillette Cup limited-overs competition was beginning in 1963. There were contrasting views about the end of amateurism and the passing of Gentlemen v Players: some traditionalists like E. W. Swanton and the editor of ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' lamented the passing of an era, but noted that social change had rendered the concept an anachronism.

, who captained the last-ever Players team, spoke for many when he said he was "all for the abolition of amateurs", their "afforded privileges" and "fancy caps".

2010 match

On 15 August 2010, the concept was revived for the first time in 48 years when a

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

match was played at

Wormsley Park Wormsley is a private estate of Mark Getty and his family, set in of rolling countryside in the Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire (formerly Oxfordshire), England. It is also the home of Garsington Opera. Acquired by Sir Paul Getty in 1985, the e ...

. The Gentlemen were represented by a selection of under-19 cricketers from Blackheath Cricket Club and state schools in South East London and the Tower Hamlets area. The Players were a team representing the Professional Cricketers Association Masters, captained by Robert Key. After losing the toss and being sent in, the Players finished on 127/8, with the Gentlemen scoring 128/5 to win by five wickets off the final ball.

Records

Results

In all, 274 matches were played over 135 years (in 1806, 1819–1825, 1827, 1829–1915, 1919–1939 and 1945–1962), with the Players winning 125, the Gentlemen 68, and 80 matches being drawn; the first match of 1883 was tied.

Largest margins of victory

;By an innings :Players, innings and 305 runs: The Oval, 1934 :Players, innings and 231 runs: Lord's, 1924 :Players, innings and 181 runs: Lord's, 1860 :Players, innings and 140 runs: Hastings, 1891 :Players, innings and 128 runs: Lord's, 1946 :''Gentlemen record was innings and 126 runs: The Oval, 1879'' ;By runs :Players, 345 runs: Lord's, 1823 :Players, 285 runs: Lord's, 1858 :Gentlemen, 262 runs, Lord's, 1875 :Players, 241 runs: The Oval, 1914 :Players, 206 runs, Lord's, 1878 ;By wickets :ten wickets: seven instances (all Players) :''Gentlemen record was nine wickets: The Oval, 1872, and

Prince's Cricket Ground Prince's Cricket Ground in Chelsea, London was a cricket ground, created by the brothers George and James Prince as part of the Prince's Club, on which 37 first-class matches were played between 1872 and 1878. The ground was built on in 1883. The ...

, 1877''

Smallest margins of victory

;By runs :Tied match at The Oval, 1883 :Players, one run: Hove, 1881 :Players, two runs: Lord's, 1952 :Gentlemen, four runs: Lord's, 1870 :Gentlemen, five runs: Lord's, 1888 ;By wickets :one wicket: five instances (all Gentlemen) :''Players record was two wickets: Lord's, 1856, Lord's, 1874, Lord's, 1900 and Scarborough, 1955''

Highest team totals

:Players, 651/7 dec: The Oval, 1934 :Players, 608: The Oval, 1921 :Players, 579: Lord's, 1926 :Gentlemen, 578: The Oval, 1904 :Gentlemen, 542: Lord's, 1926

Lowest team totals

:Players, 24: Lord's, 1829 (first innings) :Gentlemen, 31: Lord's, 1848 (Gentlemen won the match) :Gentlemen, 35: Lord's, 3 July 1837 :Gentlemen, 36: Lord's, 1831 (one man absent hurt) :Players, 37: Lord's, 1829 (second innings)

Highest individual innings

:266 *:

, Players, Scarborough, 1925 :247:

Bobby Abel Robert Abel (30 November 1857 – 10 December 1936), nicknamed "The Guv'nor", was a Surrey and England opening batsman who was one of the most prolific run-getters in the early years of the County Championship. He was the first England player ...

, Players, The Oval, 1901 :241:

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. ''Wisden Cricketer ...

, Players, Scarborough, 1953 :232 *:

C. B. Fry Charles Burgess Fry (25 April 1872 – 7 September 1956) was an English sportsman, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricketer. John Arlott described him with the words: "Charles Fry could b ...

, Gentlemen, Lord's, 1903 :217:

, Gentlemen, Hove, 1871

Hundred in each innings of a match

:102 * & 136: R. E. Foster, Gentlemen, Lord's, 1900 :104 & 109 *: John King, Players, Lord's, 1904 :125 & 103 *: K. S. Duleepsinhji, Gentlemen, Lord's, 1930

Nine or more wickets in an innings

:10–37:

Alec Kennedy Alec or Aleck is a Scottish form of the given name Alex. It may be a diminutive of the name Alexander or a given name in its own right. Notable people with the name include: People * Alec Aalto (1942–2018), Finnish diplomat *Alec Acton (1938– ...

, Players, The Oval, 1927 :10–90:

Arthur Fielder Arthur Fielder (19 July 1877 – 30 August 1949) was an English professional cricketer who played as a fast bowler for Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team from 1900 to 1914. He played a major role in Kent's four County Champ ...

, Players, Lord's, 1906 :10–?: F. W. Lillywhite, Players, Lord's, 17 July 1837 (second innings; Gentlemen had 16 men) :9–46: John Stephenson, Gentlemen, Lord's, 1936 :9–82: David Buchanan, Gentlemen, The Oval, 1868 :9–85: Cec Parkin, Players, The Oval, 1920 :9–105:

Johnny Douglas John William Henry Tyler Douglas (3 September 1882 – 19 December 1930) was an English cricketer who was active in the early decades of the twentieth century. Douglas was an all-rounder who played for Essex County Cricket Club from 1901 to 1 ...

, Gentlemen, Lord's, 1914 :9–?: F. W. Lillywhite, Lord's, 3 July 1837

Thirteen or more wickets in a match

:18–?: F. W. Lillywhite, Players, Lord's, 17 July 1837 (Gentlemen had 16 men) :14–221:

, Players, Lord's, 1906 :14–?: F. W. Lillywhite, Players, Lord's, 1829 :13–141: Tom Richardson, Players, Hastings, 1897 :13–144:

Tich Freeman Alfred Percy "Tich" Freeman (17 May 1888 – 28 January 1965) was an English first-class cricketer. A leg spin bowler for Kent County Cricket Club and England, he is the only man to take 300 wickets in an English season, and is the second most p ...

, Players, Lord's, 1929 :13–?: F. W. Lillywhite, Players, Lord's, 1835 :13–?: F. W. Lillywhite, Players, Lord's, 3 July 1837 :13–?:

James Cobbett James Cobbett (12 January 1804 – 31 March 1842) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1826 to 1841 for Middlesex, Surrey and Sheffield Cricket Club (''aka'' Yorkshire). Considered by many - according to ''T ...

, Players, Lord's, 1836 (Gentlemen had 18 men)

Five catches in an innings

Alfred Lyttelton Alfred Lyttelton KC (7 February 1857 – 5 July 1913) was a British politician and sportsman from the Lyttelton family who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sports ...

, Gentlemen, The Oval, 1877 :

A. J. Webbe Alexander Josiah Webbe (16 January 1855 – 19 February 1941) was a cricketer who played for Oxford University and Middlesex. He also played one Test match for England. After being schooled at Harrow School, he went on to Trinity College, Oxfo ...

, Gentlemen, Lord's, 1877 :

, Players, Lord's, 1952

Four stumpings in an innings

E. H. Budd Edward Hayward Budd (23 February 1786 – 29 March 1875) was a noted English cricketer and all-round sportsman. He was a prominent right-handed batsman and an occasional medium pace lob bowler. He was a good fielder who played in some matches a ...

, Gentlemen, Lord's, 1819 :

William Slater William, Bill, Billy or Willie Slater may refer to: * William Slater (architect) (1819–1872), English architect * William Slater (cricketer) (1790–1852), English cricketer * William Slater (swimmer) (born 1940), Canadian swimmer * William A. S ...

, Players, Lord's, 1824 (Gentlemen had 14 men)

References

Bibliography

* * * *