By the close of the 1829 season William Lillywhite and Jem Broadbridge — both Sussex roundarm bowlers — had established themselves as the leading bowling pair in England. Together they took 134 wickets in major matches that summer. Their dominance, on the back of the 1828 legalisation of roundarm to the elbow, was the moment roundarm definitively replaced underarm at the top of English cricket.
The roundarm question had divided cricket since John Willes's first experiments in 1807. The 1828 legalisation settled the law; the 1829 Lillywhite-Broadbridge season settled the practice.
Roundarm had been legalised — to elbow height — by the MCC in 1828 after years of trial matches. Lillywhite and Broadbridge had been the principal exponents through the trials. The 1829 season was the first under the new law in which they bowled fully without restriction. Together they took 134 major-match wickets; Lillywhite alone took 78. Their dominance broke the back of underarm bowling at the top level. By 1832 underarm bowling at major-match level was effectively extinct.
1807
Willes first experiments with roundarm
1828
MCC legalises roundarm to elbow height
1829 season
Lillywhite-Broadbridge pair takes 134 wickets
1864
Overarm bowling fully legalised
The moment roundarm bowling definitively replaced underarm at the top of English cricket.
Modern overarm bowling descends from roundarm via the 1864 legalisation. Lillywhite and Broadbridge are the foundation figures.
n/a
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.