Great Cricket Matches 1772-1800

Nearly thirty years later, the ACS returned to this issue and concluded that there are legitimate reasons for carrying match classification back beyond 1801. In the first place, the lull to which the Guide refers was centred not on 1800 but somewhat later, on the period 1811-13 when the war with France was at its height. Matches in the first decade of the 19th century are best seen as the tail-end of the vibrant cricket scene of the late 18th century, and in this context the year 1800 represents no sort of logical dividing-point. Moreover, knowledge of the 18th-century game has advanced significantly since the Guide was published in 1981 so that it is now possible to arrive at a more informed assessment of the quality of players. Accordingly, in March 2009 the Cricket Statistician carried a long article by John Bryant and Keith Warsop, setting out a classification of matches in the 18th century based on the principle that the general approach applied to matches from 1801 should be maintained for the earlier period, so far as possible in 18th-century conditions. At the Association’s Annual General Meeting at Cardiff in March 2009, the matter was discussed and it was agreed to invite statisticians with an interest in this subject to form a small group to consider and, if thought fit, amend the list of 228 definite, and 8 possible, matches proposed in the article. This group consisted, fittingly perhaps given the subject matter, of eleven members: Don Ambrose Dennis Lambert Philip Bailey David Main John Bryant Keith Warsop David Frith Martin Wilson Peter Griffiths Peter Wynne-Thomas Bob Harragan The group agreed to take the list of 236 matches as its starting point. Group members were invited to propose matches, or categories of match, for addition or deletion. Several suggestions were made and lively discussions ensued. It became clear that the opinions of members of the group were informed by different approaches to the topic that varied quite widely from one member to the next. As discussion progressed, however, it also became clear that these different approaches tended to lead members to very similar conclusions about the specific matches to be included on the proposed list. The eventual conclusion was that the 8 matches originally identified as doubtful should all be included. These matches aside, no consensus emerged for any of the additions or deletions suggested by various members of the group. Consequently it was agreed that the list of 236 matches, as set out in the Cricket Statistician in March 2009, should stand as the recommendation of the group. Further research has since uncovered an additional match in 1778 that clearly qualifies for inclusion, raising the total to 237; this match is the subject of an article by its discoverer, Martin Wilson, in the March 2010 edition of the Cricket Statistician . There was some discussion among the group about the treatment of ‘odds’ matches, which were a common feature of the period. This has always been a controversial issue among statisticians, and in the end the group was guided by the ACS’s established approach for similar matches in the 19th century, which is to include only the most outstanding instances. The final list includes only eight matches involving odds, all of them between an England team and either Hampshire (one match) or Surrey (seven 14