Controversies in 1847

2 incidents documented

All-England Eleven's First National Tour — 1847

All-England Eleven vs local 18s and 22s

1847-09-01

In its first full season after foundation, William Clarke's All-England Eleven played a programme of fixtures across the north and midlands — the first systematic national cricket tour ever organised. Sides of 18 or 22 local players were engaged at Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Birmingham, Liverpool, Stockton and Derby; the eleven won the great majority of fixtures and drew crowds of three to five thousand at most venues.

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⭐Mild

Eleven vs Eighteen, Twenty-Two of Locals — The Odds Format of AEE Tours, 1846-49

All-England Eleven vs local 18s/22s

1847-07-01

From the foundation of the All-England Eleven in 1846 every fixture the eleven played against a local side was contested at odds — eighteen, twenty-two or occasionally even more local players against the AEE's eleven. The format kept the contests competitive for spectators and for promoters' returns; it remained the standard structure of touring cricket for the next forty years, including the first English tours of Australia in the 1860s.

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