The Players 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 officia ...

between 1806 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 wor ...

, nearly 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 Gentlemen, though Players teams have occasionally played against touring sides too. Teams called the Players have played in a few minor matches. The inaugural Gentlemen v Players fixture was held at Lord's 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 on 8, 10 and 11 September 1962, the Players winning by 7 wickets. The Players were cricketers with professional status, whereas the Gentlemen were termed amateurs who nominally claimed expenses for playing. Outstanding members of Players teams have included

Fuller Pilch Fuller Pilch (17 March 1804 – 1 May 1870) was an English first-class cricketer, active from 1820 to 1854. He was a right-handed batsman who bowled at a slow pace with a roundarm action. Pilch played in a total of 229 first-class matches for a ...

Wilfred Rhodes Wilfred Rhodes (29 October 1877 – 8 July 1973) was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman ...

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 ...

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 Cricke ...

and

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 ...

References

Bibliography

* * Charles Williams, ''Gentlemen & Players: The Death of Amateurism in Cricket'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2012, Former senior cricket clubs {{england-cricket-team-stub