Welcome to the Gents of England page.
About the Gentlemen of England XI
A brief History of the Club
The Revival of the Gentlemen of England's XI
In the spring of 2015, the Committee of the Wandering Cricket Association resolved to breathe new life into a handful of historic English wandering cricket clubs that had long since faded into obscurity. Chief among these was the Gentlemen of England XI — a side which, in both spirit and structure, can be seen as a forerunner to the modern England national team.
Though a formally recognised Gentlemen of England team first appeared in the mid-18th century, the concept itself reaches further back. As early as the 1730s, records make mention of sides loosely described as “England” or “All-England.” These were not national teams as we know them today, but elevens drawn from beyond the borders of the county they faced. One such contest took place in 1739 at Bromley Common, between Kent and “England” - advertised as “eleven gentlemen of that county (i.e., Kent) and eleven gentlemen from any part of England, exclusive of Kent.” Though casual in naming, such fixtures formed the earliest bones of representative cricket.
The first Gentlemen of England side to appear in its own right took the field in 1751, upon the wide green expanse of Newmarket Heath, straddling the counties of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. This was no ordinary match but a social and sporting spectacle of grand proportions. The Gentlemen of England, led by the Earl of March, faced the Old Etonians, captained by the Earl of Sandwich, for a princely purse of £1,500 — raised from 1,000 guineas. Professionals were barred, and the assembled wagers reportedly exceeded £20,000 — a sum equivalent to over £4.5 million today.
The Etonians prepared diligently, even arranging a practice match on 14 June, before the three encounters that followed:
Tuesday, 25 June
England: 93 & 101 (98)
Eton: 53 & 104
Result: Eton won by 37 runs
(Some accounts differ, listing the match as unfinished or even an England victory by 140 runs, though the Eton win is most widely accepted.)
Thursday, 27 June
England: 51 & 114
Eton: 168 & 67
Result: Eton won by 70 runs
Saturday, 29 June
England: 109 & 133
Eton: 46 & 101
Result: England won by 85 runs
These matches formed part of a wider festival of sport and wagering — a true window into 18th-century leisure. Alongside cricket were cockfights, smock-races, wrestling bouts, and cudgelling contests, each adding colour to the carnival. Contemporary reports appeared in Pond’s Sporting Kalender, several issues of the Cambridge Journal (11 May, 8 June, 22 June, 6 July), and the Derby Mercury (7 July).
Today: The Gentlemen Continue
The Gentlemen of England XI remains true to its roots—even in the 21st century. Much like its 18th-century forebears, the side is composed of wandering cricketers, Jazzhats, and Gentlemen drawn from counties across the land. It is a gathering of kindred spirits bound by tradition, camaraderie, and an enduring love for the game. The club around 50 playing members.
The team’s first match following its rebirth took place in 2016 against the Royal Household Cricket Club, as part of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th Birthday celebrations. Both Her Majesty and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh were in attendance for part of the day—an honour that delighted players and spectators alike. The fixture, played in the truest spirit of the game, has since become a cherished annual tradition.
Today, the club plays a carefully curated programme of eight matches per season. While we continue to honour historic rivalries and familiar grounds, we also welcome the inclusion of new fixtures—reflecting the lively and expansive world of more than 250 wandering and Jazz Hat sides across the United Kingdom.
The Gentlemen of England XI continues to celebrate cricket not merely as a sport, but as a living tradition—played with charm, respect, and a dash of historical flair.
The global landscape at the clubs conception in the 1700's
To truly grasp the age in which the Gentlemen of England XI first emerged, one must picture mid-18th-century Britain — a world of candlelight and quills, of empire and Enlightenment, when coffee-houses buzzed with debate and the laws of cricket were first being set to paper. It was an era in which the modern world was quietly taking shape.
To place it in perspective, when the Gentlemen of England first took the field at Newmarket Heath in 1751, the world around them looked something like this:
- 1731: The Gentleman’s Magazine launched, feeding Britain’s growing appetite for ideas, satire, and public debate.
- 1744: The earliest known Laws of Cricket were compiled by London clubs, setting in motion the structure of the modern game.
- 1750: Johann Sebastian Bach was still composing, his final works yet to be completed.
- 1751: The Gin Act curbed the notorious “gin craze,” reflecting a society trying to sober itself after years of excess.
- 1752: Benjamin Franklin and his son tested the link between electricity and lightning by flying a kite in a thunderstorm.
- 1752: The Liberty Bell arrived in Philadelphia.
- 1754: William Bligh was born — years before the mutiny on HMS Bounty would make him infamous.
- 1755: Dr Samuel Johnson published his Dictionary of the English Language, defining not just words but the character of an age.
- 1760: King George III was crowned, beginning a reign that would span six decades.
- 1769–1770: Captain James Cook charted the coasts of New Zealand and eastern Australia, redrawing the map of the known world.
It was against this remarkable backdrop — of music and manners, science and sport — that the Gentlemen of England first took to the field. Their cricket, though played in breeches and buckled shoes, was part of something much larger: a nation learning discipline, expression, and grace — on the page, in the parlour, and upon the green.
(For further reading: Non-international England cricket teams – Wikipedia)