Robert Robinson of Farnham, who had lost the use of his right hand in a childhood accident and gripped the bat with a leather-and-iron sheath, appeared for Hampshire against England at Lord's in July 1802. He scored a fluent 30 in the first innings — the first half-century-class score by a one-handed batter in major cricket — and helped Hampshire to a draw against the strongest side of the day.
Cricket in 1802 had no recognised concept of disability sport. Robinson's mitten was an idiosyncratic invention — half prosthesis, half batting glove — and he used it for forty years.
Robinson had impressed in club fixtures around Farnham through 1800 and 1801. His selection for Hampshire's match at Lord's was pushed by the local backers who believed his off-side driving could exploit the rough Lord's pitch.
Robinson, born at Farnham around 1765, had crushed his right hand as a small boy. Determined to play, he had a Farnham smith make him a leather mitten reinforced with a thin iron plate, into which the bat handle was fitted. He used a normal underarm bat and trained himself to drive square of the wicket on the off side, where his unusual grip gave him surprising power. By 1799 he was a regular for Surrey-Hampshire sides and in 1802 was selected for Hampshire's first major fixture of the season, against an MCC-raised England XI at Lord's. The match was watched by Beauclerk, Beldham and the principal backers of the day. Robinson's first innings of 30 was the highest score for Hampshire and prompted, by John Nyren's later report, applause from the gallery.
Robinson goes in at no. 5 for Hampshire
Drives Beldham square through the off for 4 — first boundary of the innings
Top-scores with 30 before being bowled
Returns to field at long stop, taking two catches
Match drawn on time
c. 1765
Robinson born at Farnham, Surrey
1799
Becomes a regular for Surrey-Hampshire combined sides
8-9 Jul 1802
Plays Hampshire v England at Lord's, top-scores with 30
1820
Final major match
“He had lost the use of one hand, but with a sort of iron mitten he kept his bat firmly to its work — a prettier off-hitter never lived.”
Robinson played first-class cricket for Hampshire and Surrey-Hampshire combined sides until 1820. He never made a century in major matches but was a celebrated figure of Regency cricket.
A landmark performance in cricket's history of disability — a one-handed batter, scoring freely, in major cricket against England's best.
John Nyren wrote of Robinson with affectionate respect in The Young Cricketer's Tutor (1833). His career is the earliest recorded sustained one-handed batting career in major cricket.
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.