James Dearman (born c.1808 and christened 31 January 1808 at Darnall, Sheffield; died 3 September 1854) was an English professional

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played first-class cricket from 1826 to 1846. An all-rounder and occasional wicket-keeper who was mainly associated with Sheffield, he made 22 known appearances in first-class matches. He represented the North in the

North v. South The North of England and South of England cricket teams appeared in first-class cricket between the 1836 and 1961 seasons, most often in matches against each other but also individually in games against touring teams, Marylebone Cricket Club (M ...

series. A small man, 5 ft 4in tall, he and his brother Charles played in Sheffield matches up to 1846, and one of them may have appeared in a Marsden match in 1826. Originally a filesmith living in Sheffield, he moved to Darnell in 1835, where he kept the inn and cricket ground, his wife continuing to run the ground after his death. In 1838, Dearman challenged

Alfred Mynn Alfred Mynn (19 January 1807 – 1 November 1861) was an English first-class cricketer during the game's "Roundarm Era". He was a genuine all-rounder, being both an attacking right-handed batsman and a formidable right arm fast bowler. Cricket w ...

for the single wicket "championship of England". They played two matches at Town Malling and Sheffield. Both were won by Mynn. Dearman was so small beside Mynn that they were dubbed "David and Goliath".Altham, p.74.

References

1808 births 1854 deaths English cricketers English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 North v South cricketers Single wicket cricketers Cricketers from Sheffield Sheffield Cricket Club cricketers People from Darnall {{England-cricket-bio-1800s-stub