John Minshull (c.1741 – 23 October 1793), also known as John Minchin, was a famous English

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 str ...

er during the 1770s. He scored the first definitely recorded century in cricket. He was born at Acton in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. According to

John Nyren John Nyren (15 December 1764 – 30 June 1837) was an English cricketer and author. Nyren made 16 known appearances in first-class cricket from 1787 to 1817. He achieved lasting fame as the author of '' The Cricketers of My Time'', which was fir ...

, Minshull was a "capital hitter, and a sure guard of his wicket" but "not an elegant player, his position and general style were both awkward and uncouth". Minshull evidently had a high opinion of his own ability and was said to have been "as conceited as a wagtail and from his constantly aping what he had no pretensions to, was, on that account only, not estimated according to the price at which he had rated his own merits". Nyren added a physical description: "a thick-set man, about 5'9" in height, rather a slow mover in the field (and had) a tendency towards injury and illness".

, ''The Cricketers of my Time'' (ed.

Ashley Mote Ashley Mote (25 January 1936 – 30 March 2020) was a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 2004 to 2009. Elected representing the UK Independence Party, he became a non-inscrit one month into his term after ...

), Robson, 1998 Little is known about him personally except that he was for a time employed by the

Duke of Dorset Duke of Dorset was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1720 for the politician Lionel Sackville, 7th Earl of Dorset. History The Sackville family descended from Sir Richard Sackville. His only surviving son, Thomas S ...

as a gardener at

Knole House Knole () is a country house and former archbishop's palace owned by the National Trust. It is situated within Knole Park, a park located immediately to the south-east of Sevenoaks in west Kent. The house ranks in the top five of England's larg ...

, near

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...

. He played for Dorset's

Kent county cricket teams Kent county cricket teams have played matches since the early 18th century. The county's links to cricket go back further with Kent and Sussex generally accepted as the birthplace of the sport. It is widely believed that cricket was first played ...

during this period but it seems he then moved to Middlesex and then Surrey as he played for the Surrey eleven from 1775 till he was last recorded in 1780.

Arthur Haygarth Arthur Haygarth (4 August 1825 – 1 May 1903) was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians. He played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Sussex between 1844 and 1861, as well as num ...

, ''Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826)'', Lillywhite, 1862 Minshull's century was scored on Thursday 31 August 1769 when he played for the Duke of Dorset's XI against Wrotham. It was a minor match but Minshull's score of 107 is the earliest definitely known century in any class of cricket.

David Underdown David Edward Underdown (19 August 1925 – 26 September 2009) was a historian of 17th-century England, English politics and culture and Professor Emeritus at Yale University. Born at Wells, Somerset, Underdown was educated at The Blue School, Well ...

, ''Start of Play'', Allen Lane, 2000 To reach his century Minshull scored 34 singles, 15 twos, 9 threes and 4 all run fours.Liverman D, Griffiths P (2004
From Minshull to Collins
CricInfo, 2004-05-12. Retrieved 2017-12-16.Williamson M (2009
Cricket's first centurion
CricInfo, 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2017-12-16. He was also the first batsman to be recorded dismissed 'hit wicket', while playing for All England against Hampshire at The Vine in 1773. Strangely he was probably not actually on strike at the time. Minshull died at

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable ...

in Surrey aged 52 in 1793.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minshull, John English cricketers English cricketers of 1701 to 1786 Kent cricketers Surrey cricketers 1741 births 1793 deaths Non-international England cricketers Chertsey cricketers