George Brown of Brighton — who would later, in the 1818 underarm era, become the fastest bowler in England and the man whose pace allegedly killed a long stop — took his first major-match wickets for Sussex against Surrey on the Steine in July 1804. He took 4 for 32 in the first innings. The performance announced Sussex's first home-grown fast bowler and the future scourge of Lord's batters.
Sussex had no previous home-grown fast bowler of major-match standard. Brown was the first.
Brown had been born at Brighton in 1783 and was a fisherman by trade. By 1804 he was twenty-one and known locally for the speed of his underarm bowling — said by contemporaries to be faster than any in Sussex. The July 1804 match against Surrey was his first major appearance. He bowled fifteen four-ball overs in the first innings and took 4 for 32; in the second innings he took 2 for 39. Surrey won the match comfortably, but Brown's pace was widely discussed.
1783
Brown born at Brighton
30-31 Jul 1804
First major-match wickets for Sussex
1818
At his peak; widely said to be the fastest bowler in England
1828
Final major match
Brown bowled in major cricket until 1828. By the late 1810s he was the fastest bowler in England.
The major-match debut of one of the great fast bowlers of the late underarm era.
George Brown is one of the named figures in every history of Regency-era fast bowling. His 1804 debut is the start of that career.
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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.