About the Gentlemen of England 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's XI—a side that, in spirit and structure, can be seen as a precursor to the modern England national team.

Though a formally recognised Gentlemen of England team first appeared in the mid-18th century, the conceptual roots of such teams stretch back much further. As early as the 1730s, records reference teams loosely referred to as "England" or "All-England," though these often simply denoted a side composed of players from outside the county they were playing. For example, in 1739, a match between Kent and England at Bromley Common was advertised as "eleven gentlemen of that county (i.e., Kent) and eleven gentlemen from any part of England, exclusive of Kent." Such matches, while casual in naming conventions, formed the backbone of representative cricket.

However, it was not until 1751 that the Gentlemen of England had their first recognised outing. The venue was Newmarket Heath, straddling the counties of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. The event was more than a match—it was a social and sporting spectacle of extraordinary proportions. The Gentlemen of England, led by the Earl of March, took on the Old Etonians, captained by the Earl of Sandwich, for a prize purse of £1,500, raised from 1,000 guineas. Notably, no professionals were permitted. Contemporary reports estimated a staggering £20,000 wagered on the outcome—equivalent to over £4.5 million today.

The Etonians took their preparations seriously, playing a practice match on 14th June, and the series unfolded over the following weeks:

• Tuesday 25th June:
   
  • England: 93 & 101 (98)
     
  • Eton: 53 & 104
     
  • Result: Eton won by 37 runs
    (Note: Some reports list this as unfinished or even a win for England by 140 runs. The Eton victory appears most widely accepted.)
     
• Thursday 27th June:
   
  • England: 51 & 114
     
  • Eton: 168 & 67
     
  • Result: Eton won by 70 runs
     
• Saturday 29th June:
   
  • England: 109 & 133
     
  • Eton: 46 & 101
     
  • Result: England won by 85 runs
     

These games were not purely cricketing affairs. They formed part of a broader festival of sport and gambling, which included cockfighting, smock-racing, wrestling, and cudgelling—a true window into 18th-century sporting culture. Reports can be found in sources such as Pond’s Sporting Kalender and multiple issues of the Cambridge Journal (May 11th, June 8th, June 22nd, July 6th), as well as the Derby Mercury (Friday, July 7th).

The history of the side is extraordinary and  a list below gives a few examples of modern life at the time.

•  Johann Sebastian Bach was still working hard 
•  Benjamin Franklin and his son tested the relationship between electricity and lightning by flying a kite in a thunderstorm 
• Sep 1, The Liberty Bell arrived in Philadelphia. 
• William Bligh was born. He was the British naval officer who was the victim of two mutinies, the most famous on the HMS Bounty which was taken over by Fletcher Christian. 
• Dr. Samuel Johnson, English writer, published his “Dictionary of the English Language," 
• King George III of England was crowned.  
• Capt. James Cook charted the coasts of both the north and south islands of New Zealand and Australia.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-international_England_cricket_teams  
2. ** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-international_England_cricket_teams