The Gentlemen appeared in

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 ...

between

1806 Events January–March * January 1 ** The French Republican Calendar is abolished. ** The Kingdom of Bavaria is established by Napoleon. * January 5 – The body of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, lies in state in the Painted Hall ...

and

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

, always in the showcase

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket 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, exc ...

matches against the Players. Teams called the Gentlemen have played in a few minor matches. The inaugural Gentlemen v Players fixture was held at

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 ...

on 7, 8 and 9 July 1806, the Gentlemen winning by an innings and 14 runs. The fixture was played in most seasons since then, often in two or more instalments, until the last one at

North Marine Road, 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 se ...

on 8, 10 and 11 September 1962, the Players winning by 7 wickets. The Gentlemen were cricketers with amateur status, who nominally claimed expenses for playing, whereas the Players were paid professionals. The outstanding figure in Gentlemen cricket was

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 ...

References

Bibliography

* * Charles Williams, ''Gentlemen & Players: The Death of Amateurism in Cricket'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2012,

External links

List of all first-class matches played by the Gentlemen
Former senior cricket clubs {{england-cricket-team-stub