John Wisden's Playing Career — From the 'Little Wonder' to Retirement, 1846-1863

Wisden's bowling style was developed during the roundarm era and he never bowled overarm in first-class cricket. He used a low arm action, sharp pace and the off-cutter that batsmen of the period found particularly difficult on rough Lord's wickets. His size, far below the average for a fast bowler, made him a curiosity but did nothing to slow his deliveries.

By the late 1840s Sussex were the leading professional county and Wisden was the leading professional bowler. The North-South fixture of July 1850 was the marquee match of the English summer; the entire cricket world was watching when he produced the spell that became part of cricket folklore.

Wisden was born at Brighton in 1826 and apprenticed to the Sussex professional Thomas Box. He made his first-class debut for Sussex in 1846 and was almost immediately recognised as a phenomenon: at little more than five feet four inches tall, he could bowl genuinely fast and had developed a sharp off-cutter that he could land on a sixpence. The umpire Bob Thoms gave him the nickname 'Little Wonder', which stuck. The peak of his playing fame came on 15 July 1850 in the North v South match at Lord's, when in the South's second innings he bowled all ten wickets — the only instance in first-class cricket history of all ten dismissals being bowled. The feat was widely reported and turned Wisden's name into a byword for accurate fast bowling. He played for Sussex from 1846 to 1863, made occasional appearances for Kent and Middlesex, and was a foundation member of William Clarke's All-England Eleven, leaving with George Parr in 1852 to help create the rival United All-England Eleven. He was a regular tourist with the AEE around the country, played in the first English overseas tour to North America in 1859, and in 1855 opened a sports outfitters in Cranbourn Street, London. By the early 1860s rheumatism was forcing him out of the game; he retired at the end of 1863 with more than 1,000 first-class wickets at 6.66 and turned his attention to publishing. His first almanack appeared the following spring.

“Easily the smallest fast bowler who ever made history.”

“He bowled with great speed for so small a man and his off-cutter on a worn pitch was almost unplayable.”

Wisden's playing retirement coincided with the launch of the Almanack and the expansion of his sports retail business. He never returned to first-class cricket. He died, unmarried, in 1884 at the age of 57; the Almanack and the firm passed to his business partners and continued to grow.