William Martingell of Nutfield, Surrey, was one of the leading roundarm bowlers in England through the late 1840s and 1850s. When Wisden and Dean broke from Clarke's All-England Eleven in 1852, Martingell was among the first professionals to join the new United All-England Eleven, citing Clarke's autocratic management and inadequate pay — a decision that cost him several AEE fixtures but confirmed the UAEE's credibility.
Clarke's flat match fee left professionals unable to share in the large gate receipts of popular fixtures. The senior southern bowlers — Wisden, Dean, Martingell — had the most to gain from the UAEE's profit-sharing model.
William Martingell was born at Nutfield, Surrey, in 1818 and made his first-class debut in 1839. A right-arm medium-fast roundarm bowler who could also bat usefully, he was a regular in the Surrey side through the 1840s and early 1850s, taking 659 first-class wickets at 14.96 across 195 matches. His best performance was 8 for 53 for Surrey against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 1850. When Wisden and Dean formed the UAEE in August 1852, Martingell was among the southerners they recruited; his membership confirmed that the new body was not merely a personal vehicle for two malcontents but a genuine professional alternative. Clarke blackballed him from AEE matches as a result. Martingell continued to play for the UAEE through the 1850s alongside his regular Surrey duties, and was a key figure in Surrey's champion county years. He retired in 1865 and died at Nutfield in 1897, aged 78.
1818: Martingell born at Nutfield, Surrey
1839: First-class debut
1850: Career-best 8/53 for Surrey v Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge
Aug 1852: Joins UAEE at formation
1852–56: Banned from AEE fixtures by Clarke
1865: Retires from first-class cricket
1897: Dies at Nutfield
Clarke's blackball of UAEE members cost the AEE several of its most effective bowlers. Martingell continued uninterrupted with Surrey through the 1850s, and after Clarke's death in 1856 the ban was lifted.
Martingell's decision to join the UAEE split gave the rebel body the credibility of a proven first-class bowler and deepened Clarke's difficulty in maintaining a dominant roster.
England v West Indies
1933-07-22
Six months after Bodyline, Learie Constantine and Manny Martindale opened up with sustained leg-theory bouncers at Douglas Jardine in the Old Trafford Test. Jardine, captaining England, stood up and made 127 — his only Test century — proving, at considerable physical cost, that he could face the tactic he had unleashed on Australia.
India vs Pakistan
1996-03-09
On March 9, 1996, Pakistan's Aamer Sohail cut Venkatesh Prasad for four, then pointed his bat at the boundary as if to say 'I'll do it again'. Next ball Prasad bowled him, then animatedly waved him off the field. The send-off became the defining image of the India-Pakistan 1996 World Cup quarter-final, won by India by 39 runs.
England vs West Indies
1954-04-01
Fred Trueman's 1953-54 tour of the West Indies under Len Hutton was a personal disaster. The 22-year-old Yorkshire fast bowler clashed with hosts, opponents, umpires and even his own captain. At the end of the tour MCC withheld his Good Conduct Bonus — a public censure that probably cost him his place on the next two overseas tours and which Trueman resented for the rest of his life.