William Beldham - Citizendia

William Beldham (born 5 February 1766 in Wrecclesham, just outside Farnham in Surrey; died 20 February 1862 at Tilford, Surrey) was one of the greatest first-class cricketers in England during a career that spanned the 1785 to 1821 seasons. Events 1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France. Wrecclesham is a village in Waverley borough of the county of Surrey, England. Farnham is a Town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment Tilford is a small village about four miles South of Farnham in Surrey, England. First-class cricket refers to the class of Cricket matches of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players and officially adjudged first-class by

1 Reputation
2 Career
3 Personal life
4 References
5 External sources
6 Further reading

Reputation

Though remembered primarily as a fine attacking batsman, Beldham was in fact an all-rounder who also took many wickets by operating as a change bowler. He is also credited with many stumpings, although whether he was ever a regular wicket-keeper remains unclear.

Along with other greats such as John Small and Tom Walker, Beldham did much to lay the foundations of what can now be recognised as modern batting technique. For other people with the same name see John Small John Small (born 1737 at Empshott Hampshire; died 31 December Tom Walker ( 16 November, 1762 – 1 March, 1831) was an English Cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club and for He had a sound defence, like Small and Walker, but was also a marvellous strokemaker like Small and the later Fuller Pilch. Fuller Pilch ( March 17, 1804, Horningtoft, Norfolk - May 1, 1870, Canterbury, Kent) was an English

In his The Cricketers of My Time, author John Nyren eulogised Beldham's batting prowess: ". John Nyren (born 15 December 1764 at Hambledon Hampshire; died 30 June, 1837 in Bromley-by-Bow London) was an English . . (he was) safer than the Bank"; ". . . he would get at the balls and hit them away in gallant style. But when he could cut them at the point of his bat, he was in all his glory; and, upon my life, their speed was as the speed of thought"; ". . . one of the most beautiful sights that can be imagined, and which would have delighted an artist, was to see him make himself up to hit a ball. It was the beauideal (sic) of grace, animation, and concentrated energy". ^[1]

Other writers praised Beldham's composure, "eagle eye", strong wrists and fine timing.

Unlike his contemporary Lord Frederick Beauclerk, Beldham was noted for his integrity and fair play. The Lord Frederick Beauclerk (born 8 May 1773 in London; died 22 April 1850 in Westminster) was an outstanding but controversial English It was said of him that the only blot on his playing career was that he once biased a ball he bowled against Beauclerk, during a single wicket match at Lords in June 1806, with a lump of mud and sawdust. It had the desired effect.

Career

This section needs to be completely revised. Many of the "facts" given here cannot be verified owing to the imprecise records and statistics of the period. Much of the content is POV and the section needs to be structured by means of paragraphs.

Known as Silver Billy from his light hair and complexion, Beldham's immensely long first class career yielded a then unparalleled 7,064 runs at an average of 21. 40 with 3 centuries (or by another definition of first-class, 7117 runs at an average of 21. 18: the exact definition of 'first class' at this period of cricketing history is open to debate (1801 as its start point is purely arbitrary), and to further muddy the waters, there also exist incomplete records - for example, between 1804 and 1808. Beldham was known to have played at least six games for Homerton, who were regarded as second only to the MCC in stature). Taking to the game at an early age (in 1782, aged 16, he played for Farnham in their first ever game, against Odiham on August 13th, scoring 16 in the 2nd innings), his first "important" game came at the age of 19 in June 1785 for Berkshire against Essex. Farnham is a Town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common He began playing regularly for the celebrated Hambledon Club around this time: all the scorebooks prior to the 1786 season were lost in a fire at Lords on July 28th 1825 which destroyed the pavilion, but to judge from his own comments when interviewed in 1837 by James Pycroft, he started playing for the club in 1785: according to Ashley Mote in The Glory Days of Cricket he first played for them in 1780, aged 14, but this is highly unlikely. The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century Cricket matches James Pycroft (born 1813 Geyers House Wiltshire, died 1895-03-10, Brighton, Sussex) is chiefly known for writing The Cricket Field Ashley Mote (born 25 January 1936, London) is a Non-inscrit Member of the European Parliament (MEP for South East England By the age of 21 he was widely recognised as the best batsman in England. In the last dozen years of the 18th century he averaged about 25 runs per completed innings, an astonishing feat at the time (this achievement can be measured by the fact that 110 was regarded for betting purposes as the "norm" for a whole team). Possibly his best performance was playing for Surrey against England at Lords in 1794 when he scored 72 and 104, took two wickets and held three catches. Although past his peak from about 1800, Beldham continued to play at first-class level for many years, occasionally displaying a glimpse of past brilliance. His final game was one of the early Gentlemen v Players matches in July 1821, when he was aged 55. His final first-class score was 23 not out (were he not injured and able to "run his notches", this would have doubtless been higher). There is strong circumstantial evidence suggesting that he continued to play long after this: a passage in James Pycroft's Oxford Memories states that 'Beldham's was a green old age even when between sixty and seventy he was barred in county matches'. James Pycroft (born 1813 Geyers House Wiltshire, died 1895-03-10, Brighton, Sussex) is chiefly known for writing The Cricket Field Possibly this was to protect an old man, but it's instructive that he was banned only from county matches and not cricket entirely: it's tempting to assume that the ban was to save younger players from embarrassment at his hands (or rather, bat).

Personal life

Beldham retired to Tilford, where he owned a public house, The Barley Mow, and spent his last 41 years there. In his old age, he was interviewed by James Pycroft, author of The Cricket Field. James Pycroft (born 1813 Geyers House Wiltshire, died 1895-03-10, Brighton, Sussex) is chiefly known for writing The Cricket Field One of the common misconceptions concerning Beldham is that he fathered anything up to thirty six children by two wives. While he did marry twice, he was far less prolific: by his first wife Ann Smith (1765-1800) he had one daughter, also Ann, born 1800. His second wife, another Ann (1779-1869), bore him eight children between 1804 and 1819 and eventually outlived him by some seven years. Both are buried in the local churchyard. Beldham's cottage still sits by the side of the pub, albeit with the later addition of an upper floor.

Beldham's sister Hannah (1786-1842) married another leading cricketer of the day, John Wells. John Wells ( 5 January 1760, Wrecclesham, Surrey – 15 February 1835, Wrecclesham was a famous English Cricketer It is said that Wells impressed upon Beldham the importance of the high left elbow, although a Farnham gingerbread maker, Harry Hall, has also been credited with this. Farnham is a Town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. This was a novelty at the time but has since become a standard part of technique for a right-handed batsman. As late as the 1860s, a wall of The Cricketers pub in Wrecclesham bore the legend "Rendevous of those Famous Cricketers Beldham & Wells".

References

^ Ashley Mote, John Nyren's "The Cricketers of my Time", Robson, 1998

Contents

Reputation

Career

Personal life

References

External sources

Further reading