On 25-26 June 1821 the MCC played Cambridge University at Parker's Piece — the first formal fixture between MCC and a representative Cambridge XI. MCC won by an innings. The fixture is the foundation entry of the long-running MCC v Cambridge series and a marker of Cambridge's emergence as a recognised major-cricket force.
Cambridge University cricket had been growing since the 1813 Town v Gown fixture. By 1821 the university committee was confident enough to host MCC. The June 1821 match — at Parker's Piece — was MCC's first against a representative Cambridge XI. MCC fielded full strength; Cambridge included the rising undergraduate Charles Wordsworth. MCC won by an innings.
1813
First Cambridge Town v Gown fixture
25-26 Jun 1821
First MCC v Cambridge fixture
1827
First University Match: Oxford v Cambridge
The foundation of the MCC v Cambridge fixture series and a milestone in the development of university cricket.
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1811-07-04
The 1811 Lord's season was the leanest of the Middle Ground years. With the Napoleonic blockade at its tightest, willow scarce, professionals diverted to militia service and the betting public's purses thin, only fourteen major matches were played at Lord's all summer. The 1811 season is the clearest measure of cricket's wartime contraction.
Officers vs Civilians
1812-12-15
By the close of 1812 cricket was being played regularly in both Madras and Bombay — the earliest documented fixtures in either Presidency. Garrison officers and civilian East India Company servants ran the matches; the Madras Gazette and Bombay Courier preserved the earliest scoresheets. The Calcutta game (documented 1804) had been joined by all three Presidency capitals.
Kent vs MCC
1813-09-09
On 9-10 September 1813 Kent played the MCC at the Vine, Sevenoaks — the first post-war major match at the historic Kent ground and the start of the Vine's revival as a regular major venue. The Vine had hosted little major cricket since 1808; the September 1813 fixture marked its return to the front rank.