William Palmer (1737 – February 1790) was an 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 striki ...

er who played during the 1760s and 1770s. He was born and died in

Coulsdon Coulsdon (, traditionally pronounced ) is a town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London since 1965. Prior to this it was part of the historic county of Surrey. History The loc ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. As a top-order

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

, he was a member of the local Coulsdon Cricket Club and also played county cricket for

. Most of Palmer's career was before cricket's statistical record began in the 1772 season so relatively little is known of him. However, he regularly played in noteworthy matches until 1776. He has been recorded in 24 eleven-a-side matches and in one top-class single wicket match. He was last recorded playing for Coulsdon against

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in the ...

in 1784 when he was 47 years old.

Career

1768 to 1772

Will Palmer was born at

in 1737 and christened on 7 January that year (Julian calendar). He was already 31 years old when he played for

Bourne Cricket Club Bourne Cricket Club was based at Bishopsbourne, near Canterbury in Kent, and played several major matches in the 18th century when it was one of the teams which effectively represented Kent as a county. Its home venue was Bourne Paddock. Bourne ...

against

Caterham Cricket Club Caterham Cricket Club is an English cricket club at Caterham in Surrey. The club runs teams in the Surrey County League and plays at Old Cats playing fields in Caterham.Westerham Common on 10 June 1768. The match is the earliest known mention of him in cricket sources. Caterham batted first and were all out for 63 but Bourne were dismissed for 60 in their first

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

, Palmer scoring 12. In their second innings, Caterham totalled 150 for a match total of 213, so Bourne needed 154 to win. Palmer scored 23, which was the second-highest score after

Richard Simmons Milton Teagle "Richard" Simmons (born July 12, 1948) is an American fitness personality and public figure, known for his eccentric, flamboyant, and energetic personality. He has promoted weight-loss programs, most prominently through his ''Swe ...

' 45, but Bourne were all out for 139 and Caterham won the match by 14 runs. As Palmer was a Surrey man, it is possible that he played for Bourne as a

given man This is a general glossary of the terminology used in the sport of cricket. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics. Certain aspects of cricket terminology are explained in more detail in cr ...

. This match is not included in the ACS guide.ACS, p. 23. In 1769, Palmer played for Caterham against Hambledon at

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. The match was originally recorded by

H. T. Waghorn Henry Thomas Waghorn (11 April 1842 – 30 January 1930), was a cricket statistician and historian. He is best known for his two classic researches into cricket's early history: ''The Dawn of Cricket'' and Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730 - 1773 ...

but with some transcription errors. The report found by Waghorn described the match as "the finest that ever was played" and calculated an attendance of 20,000. G. B. Buckley discovered an additional report which mentioned that the first day's play was interrupted by rain and that Hambledon in their first innings had scored 51/4 at the close. According to ''CricketArchive'', however, the match was played in 1768 and Hambledon won by 86 runs after scoring 137 and 142 while Caterham (who batted first and third in reality) replied with 104 and 99. Hambledon's match total by the database's reckoning was 279 and Caterham's was 203, a difference of 76, not 86. Furthermore, ''CricketArchive'' calls the match "Surrey v Hampshire". In the ACS guide, the match is correctly dated and called "Caterham v Hambledon". Bourne Park House and sheep fields - geograph

Bourne Park House and sheep fields - geograph

There is no mention of Palmer in reports from the 1770 and 1771 seasons. In 1772, he played in two matches for an England XI against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. The first was at

Broadhalfpenny Down Broadhalfpenny Down (pronounced /ˌbrɔ:dˈheɪpniː/; '' brawd-HAYP-nee'') is a historic cricket ground in Hambledon, Hampshire. It is known as the "Cradle of Cricket" because it was the home venue in the 18th century of the Hambledon Club, ...

on 23–25 June;Ashley-Cooper, p. 177.ACS, p. 24. the second at

Bourne Paddock Bourne Paddock was a cricket ground at Bourne Park House, the seat of Sir Horatio Mann, at Bishopsbourne around south-east of Canterbury in the English county of Kent. It was a venue for first-class cricket matches from 1766 to 1790. The groun ...

on 19–20 August.Haygarth, p. 4. Although Palmer's team was called England by some sources, others called it

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

and

, as the players were from those counties only. In the first match, Hampshire (146 and 79) defeated England (109 and 63) by 53 runs, Palmer scoring 13 and 8. At Bourne Park, England won by 2 wickets. Hampshire were all out for 123 and England replied with 136. Palmer top-scored with 29. Hampshire scored 113 in their second innings. Palmer scored 14 as England made 101/8 to win by 2 wickets. The result of this match gave cause for celebration in

as most of the England team were Kent players. A song was written by a Kent supporter which named all the England players in one quatrain:

1773

1773 was the best of Palmer's known seasons. He appeared in eight noted eleven-a-side matches and in one top-class

single wicket Single wicket cricket is a form of cricket played between two individuals, who take turns to bat and bowl against each other. The one bowling is assisted by a team of fielders, who remain as fielders at the change of innings. The winner is the one w ...

match. The latter was played on 2 June at the

Artillery Ground The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is an open space originally set aside for archery and later known also as a cricket venue. Today it is used for military exercises, cricket, rugby and football matches. It belongs to the Honourable Artillery Com ...

between Five of Hambledon and Five of England, including Palmer. It was a low-scoring match which England won by 1 wicket. Palmer was dismissed for 1 in both innings.Haygarth, p. 6. He made his first known appearance for

Laleham Burway Laleham Burway is a tract of water-meadow and former water-meadow between the River Thames and Abbey River in the far north of Chertsey in Surrey. Its uses are varied. Part is Laleham Golf Club. Semi-permanent park homes in the west forms reside ...

on 21–22 June in a match against

. He scored 8 and 5 as Surrey won by 35 runs. Palmer then had an outstanding match on 2–3 July at the Artillery Ground as England defeated Hampshire by 6 wickets.Haygarth, pp. 7–8. Hampshire batted first and were all out for 132. England replied with 187, of which Palmer scored 52

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

, a first innings lead of 55. Hampshire scored 154 in the second innings. Palmer with 30 not out and John Boorman with 55 led England to victory at 100/4. Palmer had a match total of 82 and was not out in both innings. On 19–21 July, Palmer was in the Surrey team which defeated Kent by 153 runs at Bourne Paddock. He top-scored in the first innings with 22 in a total of 77. Kent were all out for 63. Surrey built on their lead and scored 217 in the second innings, Palmer contributing 38. Kent were bowled out for 78.Haygarth, p. 12. As happened in Kent the previous year, a song was written to celebrate Surrey's victory. The writer was the Rev. J. Duncombe of

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...

. It was called ''Surrey Triumphant'' and was a parody of ''

The Ballad of Chevy Chase "The Ballad of Chevy Chase" is an English ballad, catalogued as Child Ballad 162 ( Roud 223Sehere/ref>). There are two extant ballads under this title, both of which narrate the same story. As ballads existed within oral tradition before being wr ...

''. Several players were mentioned and one of the verses was: "Palmer, for batting well esteemed".Haygarth, pp. 9–11. Broadhalfpennydown - 1

In his next match, Palmer made the highest-known score of his career when he scored 68 for England against Hampshire at Broadhalfpenny Down on 4–5 August. At the time, it was one of the highest scores on record. Pitch preparation in the 18th century can best be described as rudimentary and conditions invariably favoured the bowlers. It was not until 1895, when

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

began to be used as a soil conditioner in pitches, that there was a general improvement in favour of batsmen. Scores of more than 50 were rare in the 1770s and it was not until 1775 that the earliest known

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

was scored in a top-class match.Haygarth, p. 25. Hampshire batted first and were all out for 89. England lost two wickets cheaply but then Palmer and Thomas White came together and built a match winning partnership for the third wicket. Palmer scored 68 and White 69. The rest of the England batsmen were soon dismissed and the total was 202. Hampshire scored 140 to avoid an innings defeat. Palmer, who is known to have been a long stop fielder, took a catch to dismiss Richard Francis. Needing 28, England won by 9 wickets. Palmer did not bat.Haygarth, pp. 12–13. Palmer played for Surrey in each of his other four 1773 matches. These were against Kent at

Sevenoaks Vine The Vine Cricket Ground, also known as Sevenoaks Vine, is one of the oldest cricket venues in England. It was given to the town of Sevenoaks in Kent in 1773 by John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset (1745–1799) and owner of nearby Knole ...

on 16–18 August; against Hambledon Town at

on 26 August; against Hampshire at

on 16–18 September; and against Hampshire at Broadhalfpenny Down on 27–28 September. In the match at Sevenoaks, Palmer was number 2 in the Surrey batting order and scored 20 in both innings. He was

run out Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, governed by Law 38 of the Laws of Cricket. A run out usually occurs when the batsmen are attempting to run between the wickets, and the fielding team succeed in getting the ball to one wicket befo ...

in the first and caught behind by

in the second. Surrey scored 170 and 70; Kent replied with 141 and 100/4 to win by six wickets.Haygarth, p. 14. The match on 26 August ended in another Surrey victory by six wickets. Hambledon scored 103 and 51; Palmer scored 16 and 6 as Surrey replied with 131 and 24/4. The scorecard lacks dismissal details so it is not known if Palmer was out or not out in his two innings.Haygarth, pp. 13–14. At Laleham Burway, Surrey won by 8 wickets. Hampshire were all out for 38 and 145; Surrey scored 120 and 64/2. Palmer was bowled by Thomas Brett for 6 in the first innings and did not bat in the second.Haygarth, pp. 15–16. In the last match at the end of September, Surrey won by an innings and 60 runs. Hampshire were dismissed for 83 and 82; Surrey scored 225. Palmer made 14 but William Yalden scored 88 which equalled the highest score on record at the time.Ashley-Cooper, p. 178.

1774 to 1776

Palmer's first known match in 1774 was for England against Hampshire at Broadhalfpenny Down on 22–24 June. Hampshire won by an innings and 52 runs. England scored 122 and 133; Palmer was out for 0 in the first innings and made only 6 in the second. Hampshire scored 307.Haygarth, p. 21. There was a return match at Sevenoaks Vine on 8–9 July which Hampshire won by 169 runs. They scored 139 and 182; England were dismissed for 88 and 64, Palmer scoring 3 and 5. In the second innings, he was

bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...

by his Surrey colleague,

Lumpy Stevens Edward "Lumpy" Stevens (1735 – 7 September 1819) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket in the 18th century. He was an outstanding bowler who is generally regarded as the first great bowler in the game's his ...

, who was playing for Hampshire as a given man.Haygarth, pp. 17–18. After that poor start to the season, Palmer had a better game for Surrey against Hampshire at

Guildford Bason Guildford Bason (or Basin) is a former cricket ground on Merrow Down, on the outskirts of Guildford, Surrey. Cricket was played on the ground between 1730 and 1786.Haygarth, p. 18. Palmer is recorded four times in 1775. In July, he played in two matches for Surrey against Hampshire. The first match was at Laleham Burway on 6–8 July. Surrey won by 69 runs. They batted first and were all out for 76, Palmer making the top score of 15. In the second innings, when Surrey scored 163, he made only 1. Hampshire were dismissed for 51 and 119.Haygarth, p. 24. The second match was at Broadhalfpenny Down on 13–15 July. This was the famous match in which John Small scored the earliest known

in a top-class match. Hampshire batted first and scored 168; Surrey replied with 151 but Palmer was out without scoring. In their second innings, Hampshire lost four wickets very quickly and seemed to be heading for certain defeat but Small and his

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Richard Nyren Richard Nyren (1734 – 1797) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket during the heyday of the Hambledon Club. A genuine all-rounder and the earliest known left-hander of note, Nyren was the captain of Hampshire when ...

, built a large partnership for the fifth wicket. Small scored 136, Nyren 98 and Thomas Brett weighed in with 68. Their total of 357 was a huge score in the playing conditions of the time. Surrey were bowled out for 78, of which Palmer made the top score of 22, and Hampshire won by 296 runs.

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 ...

commented on the fact that 754 runs were scored in the match. Moulsey

In September 1775, Palmer played for his local club

against

and as a given man for

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, also against Chertsey.ACS, p. 25. Coulsdon lost heavily at

by 172 runs. Chertsey scored 152 and 148; Coulsdon were dismissed for 43 and 85, Palmer scoring 1 and 5.Buckley, p. 74. Chertsey beat London by 44 runs after scoring 106 and 122. London replied with 101 and 83; Palmer scored 9 and 5.Buckley, p. 76. Palmer played for Kent as a given man on 5–7 June 1776. The match was against Hampshire on the neutral venue of

Moulsey Hurst Moulsey Hurst is in West Molesey, Surrey on the south bank of the River Thames above Molesey Lock. It is one of England's oldest sporting venues and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for cricket, boxing, prizefighting and other sports. T ...

for a stake of 500 guineas. Hampshire scored 225 and 186; Kent scored 55 and 204, so Hampshire won by 152 runs. Palmer is number one in the scorecard but he was dismissed for 2 and 0, bowled by William Barber in both innings.Ashley-Cooper, p. 179. Palmer's next known match was for Surrey against Hampshire at Laleham Burway on 6–8 August 1776. This was a very close contest which Surrey won by one wicket. Hampshire scored 94 and 176; Surrey 141 and 130/9. Again, Palmer did not have a successful match and was out for 2 and 5.Buckley, p. 79. In his last known match until 1784, he was out for a "

pair Pair or PAIR or Pairing may refer to: Government and politics * Pair (parliamentary convention), matching of members unable to attend, so as not to change the voting margin * ''Pair'', a member of the Prussian House of Lords * ''Pair'', the Frenc ...

", scoring 0 in both innings. He was

in the first and caught behind by

Tom Sueter Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

in the second. Hampshire won the match by 198 runs.Haygarth, p. 30.

Later years

Palmer is undocumented after 1776 except for one final reference in 1784. He was 47 years old by that time and may have been playing continuously for Coulsdon in the interim but there are no surviving reports of Coulsdon matches during that period. The 1784 match was against Chertsey at Laleham Burway on 22–23 June for a stake of £50 a side. Chertsey scored 219 and 186; Coulsdon could only score 63 and 29. Palmer scored 9 in the first innings and just 1 in the second. Chertsey won by 313 runs.Waghorn, p. 59.ACS, p. 26. Haygarth left a short biographical note about Palmer which included the "batting well esteemed" verse. As Haygarth says, Palmer was a successful batsman in the few matches recorded of him (especially in 1773) but he undoubtedly began his career long before 1772 when match records were rarely created or maintained. Palmer died in Coulsdon in early 1790 and was buried there on 8 February 1790.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, William 1737 births 1790 deaths English cricketers English cricketers of 1701 to 1786 Kent cricketers Non-international England cricketers People from Coulsdon Cricketers from the London Borough of Croydon Surrey cricketers