Gentlemen v Players
Encyclopedia
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket
match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs
(the Gentlemen) and one of professionals (the Players). The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter till 1962 and there were usually two or more games each season. After 1962, the concept of amateurism was abolished and so all first-class players became, in theory at least, professional.
The fixture was a prestigious one, though far short of Test match
quality and even of the rival North v. South
fixture. The Gentlemen teams were often very weak compared with the professionals and on occasion the fixture had to be arranged on an odds basis where the Players eleven took on a greater number of Gentlemen. The Gentlemen famously became competitive during the career of the legendary WG Grace, whose performances were so outstanding that the Gentlemen could enjoy some long-awaited success. The fixture often confirmed the commonly held view of an imbalance between amateur and professional in that amateurs tended to be batsmen first and foremost, hence there were few good amateur bowlers. The Players could call on bowlers like the arch-professional Wilfred Rhodes
and were nearly always strong as a bowling side.
The game was played over three days on all but a handful of occasions throughout its history. The most common venue for the match was Lord's
, but a number of other grounds were used, notably The Oval
and Scarborough, and it was at Scarborough that the last Gentlemen v Players game was played, in September 1962.
The same format of amateurs playing professionals was used in a number of other fixtures, some of which were given first-class status - for example, "Gentlemen of Nottinghamshire v Players of Nottinghamshire" - but these matches became less common after the beginning of the 20th century and the last such game was "Gentlemen of the South v Players of the South" in 1920, after which all first-class Gentlemen v Players matches were between teams known simply by those names.
The Gentlemen versus Players series ended after the 1962 season, when the distinction between amateur and professional players was abolished. Fred Trueman
's view of the fixture was that it was a "ludicrous business" that was "thankfully abolished" after the 1962 season.
Players
Gentlemen
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First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs
Amateur status in first-class cricket
Amateur status in first-class cricket had a special meaning, especially in England, in that the amateur in this context was not merely someone who played cricket in his spare time but a particular type of first-class cricketer who existed officially until 1962, when the distinction between amateurs...
(the Gentlemen) and one of professionals (the Players). The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter till 1962 and there were usually two or more games each season. After 1962, the concept of amateurism was abolished and so all first-class players became, in theory at least, professional.
History
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
quality and even of the rival North v. South
North v. South
The North of England and South of England teams appeared in first-class cricket between the 1836 and 1961 seasons, most often in matches against each other but also individually in games against touring teams, MCC and others....
fixture. The Gentlemen teams were often very weak compared with the professionals and on occasion the fixture had to be arranged on an odds basis where the Players eleven took on a greater number of Gentlemen. The Gentlemen famously became competitive during the career of the legendary WG Grace, whose performances were so outstanding that the Gentlemen could enjoy some long-awaited success. The fixture often confirmed the commonly held view of an imbalance between amateur and professional in that amateurs tended to be batsmen first and foremost, hence there were few good amateur bowlers. The Players could call on bowlers like the arch-professional Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets in and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches...
and were nearly always strong as a bowling side.
The game was played over three days on all but a handful of occasions throughout its history. The most common venue for the match was Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
, but a number of other grounds were used, notably The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
and Scarborough, and it was at Scarborough that the last Gentlemen v Players game was played, in September 1962.
The same format of amateurs playing professionals was used in a number of other fixtures, some of which were given first-class status - for example, "Gentlemen of Nottinghamshire v Players of Nottinghamshire" - but these matches became less common after the beginning of the 20th century and the last such game was "Gentlemen of the South v Players of the South" in 1920, after which all first-class Gentlemen v Players matches were between teams known simply by those names.
The Gentlemen versus Players series ended after the 1962 season, when the distinction between amateur and professional players was abolished. Fred Trueman
Fred Trueman
Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
's view of the fixture was that it was a "ludicrous business" that was "thankfully abolished" after the 1962 season.
Results
In all 274 matches have been played. The Gentlemen have won 68, Players 125, 80 matches have been drawn and one match (the first one of 1883) ended in a tie. The results of all the matches may be found in List of Gentlemen v Players matches.Largest margins of victory
Gentlemen- innings and 126 runs: The Oval, 1879
- innings and 98 runs: Lord's, 1876
- innings and 87 runs: The Oval, 1868
- 206 runs, Lord's, 1878
- 193 runs: Lord's, 1829 (Gentlemen had 12 men)
- 134 runs: Lord's, 1914
- nine wickets: The Oval, 1872
- nine wickets: Prince's Cricket GroundPrince's Cricket GroundPrince's Cricket Ground in Chelsea, London was a cricket ground, created by two brothers by the name of Prince, on which 37 first-class matches were played between 1872 and 1878. The ground was built on in 1883...
, 1877
Players
- innings and 305 runs: The Oval, 1934
- innings and 231 runs: Lord's, 1924
- innings and 181 runs: Lord's, 1860
- 345 runs: Lord's, 1823
- 285 runs: Lord's, 1858
- 241 runs: The Oval, 1914
- ten wickets: seven instances
Smallest margins of victory
Tied match- The Oval, 1883
Gentlemen
- four runs: Lord's, 1870
- five runs: Lord's, 1888
- six runs: Scarborough, 1913
- one wicket: five instances
Players
- one run: Hove, 1881
- two runs: Lord's, 1952
- eight runs: The Oval, 1893
- two wickets: Lord's, 1856
- two wickets: Lord's, 1874
- two wickets: Lord's, 1900
- two wickets: Scarborough, 1955
Highest team totals
Gentlemen- 578: The Oval, 1904
- 542: Lord's, 1926
- 513: The Oval, 1870
Players
- 651/7 dec: The Oval, 1934
- 608: The Oval, 1921
- 579: Lord's, 1926
Lowest team totals
Gentlemen- 35: Lord's, 3 July 1837
- 36: Lord's, 1831
- 37: Lord's, 1853
Players
- 24: Lord's, 1829 (first innings)
- 39: Lord's, 1829 (second innings)
- 42: Lord's, 1853
Highest individual innings
- 232*: CB Fry, Lord's, 1903
- 217: WG Grace, Hove, 1871
- 215: WG Grace, The Oval, 1870
Players
- 266*: JB HobbsJack HobbsSir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
, Scarborough, 1925 - 247: R AbelBobby AbelRobert Abel , nicknamed "The Guv'nor", was a Surrey and England opening batsman who was one of the most prolific run-getters in the early years of the County Championship...
, The Oval, 1901 - 241: L HuttonLen HuttonSir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
, Scarborough, 1953
Hundred in each innings of a match
Gentlemen- 102* & 136: RE FosterTip FosterReginald Erskine Foster, nicknamed Tip Foster, commonly designated R. E. Foster in sporting literature was an English cricketer and football player...
, Lord's, 1900 - 125 & 103*: KS DuleepsinhjiKumar Shri DuleepsinhjiKumar Shri Duleepsinhji Jadeja was a cricketer who played for England. He was educated at the Rajkumar College, Rajkot, India.-Career:...
, Lord's, 1930
Players
- 104 & 109*: J KingJohn King (cricketer)John Herbert King was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Leicestershire between 1895 and 1925. He also played one Test match for England, which was against Australia at Lord's in 1909...
, Lord's, 1904
Nine or more wickets in an innings
Gentlemen- 9-46: JWA StephensonJohn Stephenson (cricketer, born 1907)Lieutenant-Colonel John William Arthur Stephenson DSO was a Hong-Kong-born English cricketer who played first-class cricket in both India and England from the late 1920s until shortly after the Second World War. His Wisden obituarist opined that "there would always have been fewer empty grounds"...
, Lord's, 1936 - 9-82: D Buchanan, The Oval, 1868
- 9-105: JWHT Douglas, Lord's, 1914
Players
- 10-37: AS Kennedy, The Oval, 1927
- 10-90: A FielderArthur FielderArthur Fielder was the leading fast bowler in English cricket for the decade before World War I and one of the key contributors to Kent's four County Championship successes between 1906 and 1913.In some ways the founder of modern fast bowling, Fielder was the first fast bowler to rely on swing...
, Lord's, 1906 - 10-?: FW LillywhiteWilliam LillywhiteFrederick William Lillywhite was a famous English cricketer during the game's roundarm era...
, Lord's, 17 July 1837 (second innings; Gentlemen had 16 men) - 9-85: CH ParkinCiss ParkinCecil Harry "Cec" Parkin was an English cricketer who played in 10 Tests from 1920 to 1924 and 157 games for Lancashire County Cricket Club....
, The Oval, 1920 - 9-?: FW Lillywhite, Lord's, 3 July 1837
Thirteen or more wickets in a match
Gentlemen- 14-?: FW Lillywhite, Lord's, 1829
Players
- 18-?: FW Lillywhite, Lord's, 17 July 1837 (Gentlemen had 16 men)
- 14-221: Arthur FielderArthur FielderArthur Fielder was the leading fast bowler in English cricket for the decade before World War I and one of the key contributors to Kent's four County Championship successes between 1906 and 1913.In some ways the founder of modern fast bowling, Fielder was the first fast bowler to rely on swing...
, Lord's, 1906 - 13-141: T RichardsonTom RichardsonTom Richardson was an English cricketer. A fast bowler, Richardson relied to a great extent on the break-back , a relatively long run-up and high arm which allowed him to gain sharp lift on fast pitches even from the full, straight length he always bowled...
, Hastings, 1897 - 13-144: AP FreemanTich FreemanAlfred Percy "Tich" Freeman was an English cricketer. A leg spin bowler for Kent and England, he is the only man to take 300 wickets in an English season, and is the second most prolific wicket taker in first class cricket history.-Career:Freeman's common name comes from his extremely short...
, Lord's, 1929 - 13-?: FW Lillywhite, Lord's, 1835
- 13-?: FW Lillywhite, Lord's, 3 July 1837
- 13-?: James CobbettJames CobbettJames Cobbett was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1826 to 1841....
, Lord's, 1836 (Gentlemen had 18 men)
Five catches in an innings
Gentlemen- A LytteltonAlfred LytteltonAlfred Lyttelton QC was a British politician and sportsman who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sports: cricket , football , athletics , rackets and real tennis , displaying an ability that made him...
, The Oval, 1877 - A WebbeAlexander WebbeAlexander Josiah Webbe was a cricketer who played for Oxford University and Middlesex. He also played one Test match for England.After being schooled at Harrow School, he went on to Trinity College, Oxford, where he got a Blue in his first year...
, Lord's, 1877
Players
- L HuttonLen HuttonSir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
, Lord's, 1952
Four stumpings in an innings
Gentlemen- EH BuddEH BuddEdward Hayward Budd was a noted English cricketer and all-round sportsman. He was a prominent right-handed batsman and an occasional medium pace lob bowler...
, Lord's, 1819
Players
- W SlaterWilliam SlaterWilliam Slater was an English professional cricketer. His brother was John Slater , also of Sussex, who played in 7 matches from 1825 to 1829.-Career:...
, Lord's, 1824 (Gentlemen had 14 men)
See also
- Amateur status in first-class cricketAmateur status in first-class cricketAmateur status in first-class cricket had a special meaning, especially in England, in that the amateur in this context was not merely someone who played cricket in his spare time but a particular type of first-class cricketer who existed officially until 1962, when the distinction between amateurs...
- History of English amateur cricketHistory of English amateur cricketThe history of English amateur cricket describes the concept and importance of amateur players in English cricket.-Co-development of amateur and professional cricket to 1800:...
- List of Gentlemen v Players matches
- Variations in first-class cricket statisticsVariations in first-class cricket statisticsVariations in first-class cricket statistics have come about because there is no official view of the status of cricket matches played before 1947. As a result, historians and statisticians have compiled differing lists of matches that they recognise as first-class. The problem is significant where...