Great Cricket Matches 1772-1800

Acknowledgements Nothing I can write here as editor can begin to do justice to the immense contribution made by others to this publication. The original categorisation of matches was the work of an ACS working party of eleven members, one of whom, sadly, will never see the results in book form. On 11 July 2010 Don Ambrose passed away at the age of 78. Don contributed a wealth of biographical information to support the intricate process of player identification, but his shrewd advice was of even greater value. Indeed, it may fairly be said that each member of the working party made a distinctive and valuable contribution. This may have been in the form of knowledge or advice, or access to relevant material; some members constructively challenged a general view, or offered a markedly different approach, ensuring that prevailing views were not accepted without fresh scrutiny. For me to mention indivuals is invidious but unavoidable. The role of Keith Warsop has been absolutely fundamental. He and I jointly wrote the article in the Cricket Statistician that began the formal process in March 2009, but that article was itself the fruit of what was already a lengthy collaboration. And Keith has remained at the centre of the process, endlessly commenting, reviewing, researching and checking. Without him this publication would not have been possible. Without Martin Wilson, on the other hand, the publication would probably still have been possible but it would have been infinitely less valuable. For it was Martin, more than anyone, that undertook the sheer hard work of checking newspapers and other contemporary sources. In the process he turned up innumerable well-attested variations to previously accepted scores, all of them meticulously sourced. And it is entirely thanks to Martin that this book is able to include the full score of an additional ‘great’ match, which had remained lost since its original newspaper publication in 1778. I was delighted when the eminent writer and historian David Frith agreed to join the working party. I knew he would provide valuable insights and knowledge from a lifetime or researching and writing about the game, but what I had not expected was his generous offer to assist with illustrative material from his own collection. In this connexion I must also thank MCC for freely giving permission for the use of images from its vast collection, including the wonderfully evocative sketches of famous cricketers of the 1790s by George Shepheard. Pete Griffiths and Philip Bailey have also been supportive throughout, not only in their contributions to the original working party but also during the process of getting the matches into a fit state to print. And after all that, what is left for me to claim as editor? Only this: that responsibility for any and all errors is unequivocally mine. 4