Billed in honour of George IV's accession, the so-called 'Coronation Match' between the Gentlemen and the Players at Lord's in July 1821 ended in farce when the Gentlemen, having been bowled out for 60 and watching the Players cruise to 270 for 6 (Thomas Beagley made 113 not out, the first century in the fixture's history), simply gave up and conceded defeat midway through the second day.
Gentlemen v Players had been reinstituted in 1819 after a long gap. The professional side, drawing on Hampshire, Surrey and Kent talent, was simply better than the amateur. Beauclerk and the MCC were determined to keep the fixture going as the showpiece of the cricket season.
George IV's accession to the throne was the political event of 1821 and the 'Coronation' branding was a marketing wheeze of Lord's owner Thomas Lord and the MCC. The match drew a respectable crowd; expectations of an even contest were not high.
The Gentlemen v Players fixture had been revived in 1819 and was meant to pit the leading amateurs of England against the leading professionals on equal terms. The reality through the early 1820s was that the professionals were demonstrably the stronger side. The 1821 match, scheduled for 23-25 July, was promoted as the 'Coronation Match' to mark the long-postponed coronation of the unpopular new king George IV (which had taken place on 19 July). The Gentlemen batted first and were dismissed for 60 — Lord Frederick Beauclerk's amateurs no match for the professional bowlers in form. The Players replied and reached 270 for 6, with the Hampshire professional Thomas Beagley making 113 not out — the first century ever scored in the Gentlemen v Players series. By midway through the second day the Gentlemen, fielding under a hot July sun and facing certain defeat, asked the Players to call it off. The match ended without a Gentlemen second innings. It was also the last senior appearance of Billy Beldham — at 55 the last active member of the original Hambledon side — playing for the Players. Derek Birley's later judgement of the affair as 'a suitably murky business' captured the contemporary reaction; the implication was that some of the betting around the match had not been straightforward.
19 Jul 1821: George IV crowned
23 Jul 1821: Match begins at Lord's; Gentlemen bowled out for 60
Players reach 270 for 6; Thomas Beagley makes 113 not out
Beagley's century is the first in the fixture's history
24 Jul 1821: Gentlemen concede defeat midway through day two
Billy Beldham makes his last senior appearance
Match ends without a Gentlemen second innings
1819
Gentlemen v Players fixture revived
23-24 Jul 1821
Coronation Match; Gentlemen concede
1822
Players first handicapped to level the contest
The MCC and the cricket press concluded that the Gentlemen needed help if the fixture was to remain credible. From 1822 onwards the Players were repeatedly handicapped — given fewer batsmen, smaller wickets, or required to bowl with one hand — to give the amateurs a chance. The handicapping persisted intermittently through the 1820s and 1830s.
A comic embarrassment for the amateurs that confirmed the Players' superiority and made plain the need for handicapping arrangements that the fixture would soon adopt.
The 1821 Coronation Match is the conventional anecdote for explaining why the Gentlemen v Players fixture had to be artificially levelled. Beagley's 113 — the first hundred in the series — is also the conventional starting point of the fixture's batting record. Beldham's appearance is the last living link to Hambledon at this level.
Zimbabwe vs England
1996-12-22
The first Test between Zimbabwe and England at Bulawayo in December 1996 ended in a draw with the scores level — the first ever in Test history. Coach David 'Bumble' Lloyd, frustrated by Zimbabwe's defensive tactics, told a press conference 'we flippin' murdered em'. He was reprimanded by the ECB.
England vs Australia
4 August 1975
On 4 August 1975, during the second Ashes Test at Lord's, a 24-year-old merchant seaman from Liverpool named Michael Angelow leapt the boundary fence wearing only socks and trainers, hurdled both sets of stumps to the amusement of the players, and was wrestled to the ground by police. He had taken a £20 bet from his shipmates. He was fined £20 in court the next morning, and the BBC commentary by John Arlott — "we have got a freaker, not very shapely, and it is masculine — and I would think it has seen the last of its cricket for the day" — became one of the most replayed pieces of cricket commentary of the decade.
Australia
1981-12-12
Australian captain Greg Chappell, the most prolific batsman in the country, made four ducks in a row across Tests and ODIs during the 1981-82 home summer — and seven ducks across the season — earning the temporary nickname 'Chappello'.