{"id":59,"date":"2022-03-29T08:13:13","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T08:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/earlycricket.uk\/?page_id=59"},"modified":"2025-06-05T13:14:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T13:14:29","slug":"the-hambledon-men","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hambledon Men \u2013 edited by E.V. Lucas (1907)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-page pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/59?print=print\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#Introduction\" >Introduction<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#The_books_within_the_book\" >The books within the book<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#Ballard_of_Dead_Cricketers_by_Andrew_Lang\" >Ballard of Dead Cricketers, by Andrew Lang<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#Introduction_by_EV_Lucas\" >Introduction by EV. Lucas<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#The_Young_Cricketers_Tutor_by_John_Nyren\" >The Young Cricketer\u2019s Tutor, by John Nyren<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#The_Cricketers_of_My_Time_by_John_Nyren\" >The Cricketers of My Time, by John Nyren<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#John_Nyren_by_the_Editor\" >John Nyren, by the Editor<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#Review_of_John_Nyrens_Book_by_the_Rev_John_Mitford\" >Review of John Nyren\u2019s Book, by the Rev John Mitford<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#The_Hambledon_Club_and_the_Old_Players_by_the_Rev_James_Pycroft\" >The Hambledon Club and the Old Players, by the Rev James Pycroft<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#Practical_Hints_on_Cricket_by_Old_Clarke\" >Practical Hints on Cricket, by Old Clarke<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#Old_Clarke_by_the_Editor\" >Old Clarke by the Editor<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#A_Conversation_with_Lord_Bessborough_by_the_Right_Rev_H_H_Montgomery\" >A Conversation with Lord Bessborough, by the Right Rev H H Montgomery<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#Memories_of_the_Old_Players_by_Arthur_Haygarth\" >Memories of the Old Players, by Arthur Haygarth<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#Mr_Budd_and_his_Friends_by_the_Editor\" >Mr Budd and his Friends, by the Editor<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#England_Past_and_Present_1770-1900_by_A_Cochrane\" >England Past and Present 1770-1900, by A Cochrane<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#The_book\" >The book<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Introduction\"><\/span>Introduction<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The importance of the works that make up this volume cannot be overstated. When published in 1907, this book was described as &#8220;Being a New Edition of John Nyren&#8217;s Young Cricketer&#8217;s Tutor, Together With a Collection of Other Matter Drawn From Various Sources, All Bearing Upon the Great Batsmen and Bowlers Before Round-Arm Came&#8221;. The volume is a collection of vital texts relating to Hambledon Cricket Club and the history of cricket of that period. This is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cricketweb.net\/cricket-writings-first-classic\/\">good article<\/a> about the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lucas was a man of great enthusiasm and passion for cricket. Benny Green describes his reaction when first encountering the scoresheets of Hambledon matches as &#8220;could not have been more ecstatic if he had been a Talmudic scholar and the score sheets the Dead Sea Scrolls&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_books_within_the_book\"><\/span>The books within the book<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ballard_of_Dead_Cricketers_by_Andrew_Lang\"><\/span>Ballard of Dead Cricketers, by Andrew Lang<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>An elegiac poem about cricket of the period. Also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/1884-ballard-of-dead-cricketers-andrew-lang\/\">here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse\">Ah, where be Beldham now, and Brett,<br>Barber, and Hogsflesh, where be they?...<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Introduction_by_EV_Lucas\"><\/span>Introduction by EV. Lucas<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The editors sets out his objectives &#8211; &#8220;to bring together as many authentic praises of the early cricketers first celebrated by Nyren as I could find\u2014together with a few new facts concerning Nyren himself: the whole to form rather a eulogy of the fathers of the noblest of games than a history of its rise or contribution to the literature of its theory. The reader will find few dates, but many traits and virtues; no well-ordered facts, but much enthusiasm.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Young_Cricketers_Tutor_by_John_Nyren\"><\/span>The Young Cricketer\u2019s Tutor, by John Nyren<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>John Nyren (1764 &#8211; 1837) was the son of Richard Nyren, the captain of the first great Hambledon team and the landlord of The Hut next to the ground, now known as the Bat and Ball Inn. In old age, Nyren worked with Cowden Clarke to produce a two-part book published in 1833 &#8211; the particular contribution of each is now unknowable. This is the first and less important part. Nevertheless, it is a vastly important text and provides an insight as to how the game was played in the eighteenth century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Cricketers_of_My_Time_by_John_Nyren\"><\/span>The Cricketers of My Time, by John Nyren<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In this work, Nyren looks back on the cricket he saw in his youth and gives an account of the great days of Hambledon. No work in the history of cricket writing has been more quoted than this. As John Arlott writes, &#8220;Hambledon cricket club and its great players are seen at a range of forty years and through the rosy glass of nostalgia by an old man who has shared their greatness.&#8221; This text created a view of cricket that survives to this day and has informed the lives of many, most of whom have never heard of it. It is the great classic of cricket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"John_Nyren_by_the_Editor\"><\/span>John Nyren, by the Editor <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Lucas provides an insight into John and Richard Nyren, largely based on the recollections of John Nyren&#8217;s daughter, Miss Mary Nyren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Review_of_John_Nyrens_Book_by_the_Rev_John_Mitford\"><\/span>Review of John Nyren\u2019s Book, by the Rev John Mitford <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In two articles published in 1833, Mitford draws upon Nyren&#8217;s work to summarise the early history of cricket, adding his own observations to bring it up to date. His main contribution concerns his writings about the cricketers of the 1830s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Hambledon_Club_and_the_Old_Players_by_the_Rev_James_Pycroft\"><\/span>The Hambledon Club and the Old Players, by the Rev James Pycroft<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This section consists of part of a book called <em>The Cricket Field<\/em>, published in 1851, which dealt with the history of cricket to that date. It draws heavily on Nyren. Lucas omits the first two chapters, which can be found in the complete edition of the volume <a href=\"http:\/\/earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-cricket-field-by-james-pycroft\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Practical_Hints_on_Cricket_by_Old_Clarke\"><\/span>Practical Hints on Cricket, by Old Clarke<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sixteen pages of cricket instruction by William Clarke, a cricketer of the early Nineteenth Century. He founded, managed and captained the All-England Eleven, a very important figure in cricket history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Old_Clarke_by_the_Editor\"><\/span>Old Clarke by the Editor<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Biographical details of William Clarke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Conversation_with_Lord_Bessborough_by_the_Right_Rev_H_H_Montgomery\"><\/span>A Conversation with Lord Bessborough, by the Right Rev H H Montgomery<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Frederick Ponsonby, 6th Earl of Bessborough (1815 \u2013 1895), was an Anglo-Irish peer who played first-class cricket 1834\u201356 for Surrey, Cambridge Town Club, Cambridge University and MCC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Memories_of_the_Old_Players_by_Arthur_Haygarth\"><\/span>Memories of the Old Players, by Arthur Haygarth<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/my-library-of-early-cricket\/#Lillywhites_Cricket_Scores_and_Biographies_%E2%80%93_Arthur_Haygarth_1824\">Haygarth&#8217;s famous and important text (aka Lilywhites)<\/a> is mostly scorecards, but it is interspersed with biographies and other articles. Here, Lucas reprints the biographies of thirty-three of the more famous players &#8211; i.e.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Edward Aburrow<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>James Aylward<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Willaim Barber<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Silver Billy Beldham<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>John Frame<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Richard Francis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Andrew Freemantle<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>John Freemantle<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>David Harris<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>William Hogsflesh<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>William Lambert<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lamborn<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>George Leer<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lumpy Stevens<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sir Horace Mann<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Noah Mann<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Joseph Miller<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Minshull<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Richard Purchase<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>John Ring<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Robert Robinson<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thomas Scott<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>John Small Senior<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>John Small Junior<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Peter Stewart<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thomas Sueter<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Earl of Tankerton<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thomas Taylor<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Richard Veck<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thoms Walker<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>John Wells<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Earl of Winchelsea<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>William Yalden<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mr_Budd_and_his_Friends_by_the_Editor\"><\/span>Mr Budd and his Friends, by the Editor<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Lucas reflects on the career and contemporaries of Edward Budd, who played in the early part of the Nineteenth Century and provided <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-hambledon-men\/#The_Hambledon_Club_and_the_Old_Players_by_the_Rev_James_Pycroft\">Pycroft <\/a>with much of his material. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-early-cricket-hall-of-fame\/#Reverend_Lord_Frederick_Beauclerk_1773_%E2%80%93_1850\">Lord Fredrick Beauclerk <\/a>features heavily in this section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"England_Past_and_Present_1770-1900_by_A_Cochrane\"><\/span>England Past and Present 1770-1900, by A Cochrane<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A short elegiac poem largely about the Hambledon era. Also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/england-past-and-present-1770-1900-by-a-cochrane-c-1905\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"2788\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_book\"><\/span>The book<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"336\" height=\"449\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Contents.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Contents.jpg 336w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Contents-224x300.jpg 224w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 336px) 100vw, 336px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction The importance of the works that make up this volume cannot be overstated. When published in 1907, this book was described as &#8220;Being a New Edition of John Nyren&#8217;s Young Cricketer&#8217;s Tutor, Together With a Collection of Other Matter Drawn From Various Sources, All Bearing Upon the Great Batsmen and Bowlers Before Round-Arm Came&#8221;. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":true,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-59","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PdOpLv-X","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/59","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/59\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4869,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/59\/revisions\/4869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}