On 21-22 July 1823 William Lillywhite of Goring — twenty-one years old, a tile-maker by trade and the future 'Nonpareil' of roundarm bowling — played his first major match for Sussex against Hampshire at Brighton. He took 3 for 28 in the first innings. The performance was the start of one of the great careers in roundarm-era cricket.
Roundarm bowling — controversial since John Willes's 1807 experiments — was establishing itself in Sussex through the early 1820s.
Lillywhite had been bowling roundarm at village level around Goring for several seasons. By 1823 the Sussex committee had identified him as a leading prospect. The July 1823 match was his first major appearance. He bowled twelve four-ball overs and took 3 for 28 — modest but identifiable as roundarm pace. He scored 11 with the bat. Sussex won the match by an innings.
1792
Lillywhite born at Goring, Sussex
21-22 Jul 1823
First major match for Sussex
1827
Plays in the Sussex v England roundarm trials
1853
Final first-class match
1854
Lillywhite dies
Lillywhite would, by the late 1820s, be the leading bowler in England. He played first-class cricket until 1853 — a thirty-year roundarm career — and is buried at Highgate Cemetery.
The major-match debut of the most influential roundarm bowler of the era.
Lillywhite is the foundation figure of roundarm bowling and one of the most influential cricketers of the nineteenth century. His 1823 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.