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Gentlemen v Players was a first-class cricket match between teams consisting of amateurs (the Gentlemen) and professionals (the Players). The difference between the two was defined by English class structure in the 19th and 20th centuries as the Players were deemed to be working-class wage-earners and the Gentlemen were members of the middle and upper classes, usually products of the English public school system. There was no connection with remuneration for playing. Whereas the Players were paid wages by their county clubs or fees by match organisers, the Gentlemen nominally claimed expenses. The whole subject of expenses was controversial and it was held that some leading amateurs were paid more for playing cricket than any professional.

The inaugural fixture took place in 1806, with a return match the same year, but it was not continued in 1807 and, with cricket in decline during the Napoleonic Wars, it was not revived until 1819. Thereafter, it was played on a generally annual basis until 1962 with usually two or more games each season. It lacked repute in the middle years of the 19th century because the Gentlemen were often outclassed but then gained in prestige during the career of W. G. Grace as the matches became highly competitive. The advent of Test cricket coupled with social change in the 20th century saw its importance decline, especially in the aftermath of the Second World War.

On 31 January 1963, the committee of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) agreed unanimously to abolish the concept of amateurism and all first-class cricketers became professional. The Gentlemen v Players fixture was by then viewed as an anachronism and was discontinued. A substitute fixture was sought but never instituted as the limited overs Gillette Cup competition began in 1963. A total of 274 Gentlemen v Players matches were played from 1806 to 1962. The Players won 125 and the Gentlemen 68. There were 80 draws and one tie.

History

Gentlemen, captained by W. G. Grace, *versus* Players at Lord's, 1899

At its height from the 1860s until 1914, the fixture was a prestigious one, though in terms of quality it fell far short of Test matches and even of the rival North v. South fixture. Until the 1860s, the Gentlemen teams were often very weak compared with the professionals, and on occasion the fixture had to be arranged on an odds basis, so that the Players eleven took on a greater number of Gentlemen. The Gentlemen famously became competitive during the career of W. G. 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 nearly always field a strong bowling side.

The game was played over three days on all but a handful of occasions throughout its history. The most frequent 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 v Players series ended after the 1962 season, when the distinction between amateur and professional players was abolished. Charles Williams has described several reports on the subject which were submitted to MCC by its Amateur Status Standing Committee (ASSC) and, on 31 January 1963, the MCC committee unanimously agreed to abolish amateurism. Williams says a substitute fixture was sought but it was decided not to pursue this as the new Gillette Cup limited overs competition was beginning in 1963.

There were contrasting views about the end of amateurism and the passing of Gentlemen v Players. Some traditionalists like E. W. Swanton and the editor of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack "lamented the passing of an era" but social change had rendered the whole concept an anachronism and Fred Trueman spoke for many when he summarised amateurism as a "ludicrous business" that was "thankfully abolished" after the 1962 season.^[1]

First matches

The inaugural fixture was a three day match at the original Lord's ground from 7 to 9 July 1806. It was soon followed by the second, held on the same ground from 21 to 25 July. In the first match, the Gentlemen played with two "given men" and these were the two outstanding professionals of the day, Billy Beldham and William Lambert. Lambert made a significant contribution with the bat and the Gentlemen won by an innings and 14 runs. For the return, the Gentlemen retained Lambert. Beldham played for the Players. The Gentlemen won a low-scoring game by 82 runs and Lambert was again a significant factor, although the leading amateur Lord Frederick Beauclerk made two good scores. A curiosity of these matches is that they featured the veteran professional Tom Walker and the rookie amateur John Willes. These are the two players both credited with devising the roundarm style of bowling, but there is no evidence to suggest they used roundarm in 1806.

Described by H. S. Altham as the "most famous of all domestic matches", the fixture disappeared until 1819. Altham says he does not know why but the Napoleonic Wars must have been a factor as cricket was in decline from 1810 until after Waterloo in 1815. In 1819, the amateurs agreed to play the professionals on equal terms but lost by six wickets. There was only one run between the sides on first innings but the Gentlemen collapsed in the second against the bowling of Tom Howard and John Sherman to be all out for only 60. This match was held at the "new" Lord's ground, the present one, which had opened in 1814.

Records

Results

In all 274 matches were played. The Gentlemen won 68, The Players 125, 80 matches were drawn and the first match 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 Ground, 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, Lord's, 1874, Lord's, 1900 and 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

W. G. Grace, who scored 15 centuries for the Gentlemen

Gentlemen: 232*: C. B. Fry, Lord's, 1903; 217: W. G. Grace, Hove, 1871; 215: W. G. Grace, The Oval, 1870

Players: 266*: Jack Hobbs, Scarborough, 1925; 247: Bobby Abel, The Oval, 1901; 241: Len Hutton, Scarborough, 1953

Hundred in each innings of a match

Gentlemen: 102* & 136: R. E. Foster, Lord's, 1900; 125 & 103*: K. S. Duleepsinhji, Lord's, 1930

Players: 104 & 109*: John King, Lord's, 1904

Nine or more wickets in an innings

Gentlemen: 9–46: John Stephenson, Lord's, 1936; 9–82: David Buchanan, The Oval, 1868; 9–105: Johnny Douglas, Lord's, 1914

Players: 10–37: Alec Kennedy, The Oval, 1927; 10–90: Arthur Fielder, Lord's, 1906; 10-?: F. W. Lillywhite, Lord's, 17 July 1837 (second innings; Gentlemen had 16 men); 9–85: Cec Parkin, The Oval, 1920; 9-?: F. W. Lillywhite, Lord's, 3 July 1837

Thirteen or more wickets in a match

Gentlemen: 14-?: F. W. Lillywhite, Lord's, 1829

Players: 18-?: F. W. Lillywhite, Lord's, 17 July 1837 (Gentlemen had 16 men); 14–221: Arthur Fielder, Lord's, 1906; 13–141: Tom Richardson, Hastings, 1897; 13–144: Tich Freeman, Lord's, 1929; 13-?: F. W. Lillywhite, Lord's, 1835; 13-?: F. W. Lillywhite, Lord's, 3 July 1837; 13-?: James Cobbett, Lord's, 1836 (Gentlemen had 18 men)

Five catches in an innings

Gentlemen: Alfred Lyttelton, The Oval, 1877; A. J. Webbe, Lord's, 1877

Players: Len Hutton, Lord's, 1952

Four stumpings in an innings

Gentlemen: E. H. Budd, Lord's, 1819

Players: William Slater, Lord's, 1824 (Gentlemen had 14 men)

References

^ Trueman, Ball of Fire, p.57.

Bibliography

H. S. Altham, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1962
Derek Birley, A Social History of English Cricket, Aurum, 1999
Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volumes 1–11 (1744–1870), Lillywhite, 1862–79
Fred Trueman, Ball of Fire, Dent, 1976
Roy Webber, The Playfair Book of Cricket Records, Playfair Books, 1951
Charles Williams, Gentlemen & Players: The Death of Amateurism in Cricket, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2012, ISBN 9780753829271

Playfair Cricket Annual – various editions
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – various editions

External links

CricketArchive

[BF57-1] Trueman, Ball of Fire, p.57.

[1]

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 ===First matches===
-The inaugural fixture was a three day match at the original Lord's ground from 7 to July 1806. It was soon followed by the second, held on the same ground from 21 to 25 July. In the first match, the Gentlemen played with two "given men" and these were the two outstanding professionals of the day, Billy Beldham and William Lambert. Lambert made a significant contribution with the bat and the Gentlemen won by an innings and 14 runs. For the return, the Gentlemen retained Lambert. Beldham played for the Players. The Gentlemen won a low-scoring game by 82 runs and Lambert was again a significant factor, although the leading amateur Lord Frederick Beauclerk made two good scores. A curiosity of these matches is that they featured the veteran professional Tom Walker and the rookie amateur John Willes. These are the two players both credited with devising the roundarm style of bowling, but there is no evidence to suggest they used roundarm in 1806.
+The inaugural fixture was a three day match at the original Lord's ground from 7 to 9 July 1806. It was soon followed by the second, held on the same ground from 21 to 25 July. In the first match, the Gentlemen played with two "given men" and these were the two outstanding professionals of the day, Billy Beldham and William Lambert. Lambert made a significant contribution with the bat and the Gentlemen won by an innings and 14 runs. For the return, the Gentlemen retained Lambert. Beldham played for the Players. The Gentlemen won a low-scoring game by 82 runs and Lambert was again a significant factor, although the leading amateur Lord Frederick Beauclerk made two good scores. A curiosity of these matches is that they featured the veteran professional Tom Walker and the rookie amateur John Willes. These are the two players both credited with devising the roundarm style of bowling, but there is no evidence to suggest they used roundarm in 1806.
 Described by H. S. Altham as the "most famous of all domestic matches", the fixture disappeared until 1819. Altham says he does not know why but the Napoleonic Wars must have been a factor as cricket was in decline from 1810 until after Waterloo in 1815. In 1819, the amateurs agreed to play the professionals on equal terms but lost by six wickets. There was only one run between the sides on first innings but the Gentlemen collapsed in the second against the bowling of Tom Howard and John Sherman to be all out for only 60. This match was held at the "new" Lord's ground, the present one, which had opened in 1814.