The All-England Eleven (AEE) was an itinerant all-professional

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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

team created in 1846 by

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

cricketer William Clarke. Widely known by its acronym AEE, it took advantage of opportunities offered by the newly developed railways to play against local teams throughout Great Britain and made its profit by receiving payments from the home clubs. In 1852, some players broke away from the AEE to form the United All-England Eleven (UEE). Similar enterprises were launched in the following years including the

United North of England Eleven The United North of England Eleven (UNEE) was an itinerant cricket team founded in 1869 by George Freeman (cricketer), George Freeman and Roger Iddison with the backing of William Denison, 1st Earl of Londesborough, Lord Londesborough who became th ...

(UNEE) and Edgar Willsher's United South of England Eleven (USEE) which became strongly associated with

WG Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 4 ...

. Clarke, as well as being the manager, was the

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

of the AEE team until his death in 1856. He was succeeded by his Nottinghamshire colleague George Parr who agreed that the AEE and UEE should regularly play against each other, something that Clarke would not allow. In 1859, the first

England national cricket team The England men's cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. ...

was formed as a composite of the AEE and the UEE to tour North America. With the rise of

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Two county championship competitions have existed since the late 19th century at ...

and the introduction of international cricket, the travelling elevens lost influence and popularity. The AEE gradually faded from the scene and had disappeared by 1880.

History

In the late 1840s, Nottinghamshire CCC player William Clarke recognised that a professional touring eleven could enhance the local and fragmented popularity of cricket.Ric Sissons, ‘Clarke, William (1798–1856)’,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

, Oxford University Press, 2004 In 1846, he founded what would become known as the "All-England Eleven" as an all-professional team that played a few games in the North of England against more-than-eleven local teams.Birley (1999), p 85 He originally called his side "Eleven of England". The squad arguably comprised the best English professional players of the time, as well as two nominally "amateur" cricketers,

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 ...

and Nicholas Felix. The All-England Eleven was inundated with requests for fixtures and received a payment from its opponents (who could in turn hope for a large attendance). During the following years, helped by the development of railways, the team regularly toured Great Britain, doing much to increase the popularity of the game in areas that had previously not seen high class cricket. England in North America 1859

The players were better paid by Clarke than they were by the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

or the counties, but Clarke, who was

as well as manager of the team, received by far the largest part of the profit. In 1852 some of the professionals, led by

John Wisden John Wisden (5 September 1826 – 5 April 1884) was an English cricketer who played 187 first-class cricket matches for three English county cricket teams, Kent, Middlesex and Sussex. His father, William, was a builder. He attended Brighton's ...

and

Jemmy Dean James "Jemmy" Dean (4 January 1816 – 25 December 1881) was an English first-class cricketer with professional status. Mainly associated with Sussex, he is recorded in 305 matches from 1835 to 1861 which are generally designated first-class, ...

, were dissatisfied by Clarke's ungenerous and undemocratic behaviour and sought larger wages. They broke away from the team and created the United All-England Eleven.Birley (1999), p 90 Other similar teams appeared from the late 1850s. George Parr led the team after Clarke's death in 1856. From 1857 the two main "All-England Elevens" regularly played against each other. In 1859, six members of each team composed the squad of the first ever overseas touring English team, which played several games in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

.Birley (1999), pp 96-97

Notes and references

{{reflist, 2

Bibliography

Derek Birley Sir Derek Sydney Birley (31 May 1926 – 14 May 2002) was a distinguished English educationalist and a prize-winning writer on the social history of sport, particularly cricket. Life and career Born in a mining community in West Yorkshire, Birl ...

, ''A Social History of English Cricket'', Aurum, 1999 *

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

, ''More Than A Game'', HarperCollins, 2007 All-England All-England *