Gentlemen v Players
Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of cricket matches that began in July 1806 and was abolished in January 1963.
The professionals were paid wages by their county clubs and/or fees by match organisers, while the amateurs claimed expenses.
No direct substitute was implemented; instead, England's first domestic one-day cricket competition began that summer.
In 1864, after overarm was legalised, it became a first-class fixture, especially so following the emergence of W. G. Grace, and it thrived as the epitome of cricket's "Golden Age" until 1914.
The differences in playing class became extremely pronounced as county cricket was dominated by the professionals of the four northern clubs.
MCC tried to avoid the inevitable for as long as it could, but the end came and the last Gentlemen v Players match was played at the North Marine Road Ground, Scarborough on 8–11 September 1962.
The inaugural fixture was advertised in The Morning Post on Monday, 7 July 1806, as a "Grand Match" to be played at Lord's "THIS DAY" between "Nine Gentlemen with Wells and Lambert, against Eleven of England, for 1000 Guineas a side".
The scorecard suggests a good third wicket partnership between Lambert and T. A. Smith for the Gentlemen but there are no details except their individual scores.
This announced a "Grand Match" to be played at Lord's the following Monday and Tuesday "between Ten Gentlemen and Lambert against Eleven of all England, for 1000 Guineas a side".
The young E. H. Budd took Beldham's place and Thomas Burgoyne was brought in to replace Warren, who was unavailable.
The England team was strengthened by the return of Beldham, Sparks and Wells who replaced Bentley, Fennex and Hampton.
The fourth match was played at Lord's in June 1820, and the Gentlemen, now with star bowler Howard as a given man, won by 70 runs.
The fifth match earned notoriety: it was scheduled to be played at Lord's from 23 to 25 July 1821 but ended on the second day after the Gentlemen conceded defeat.
Batting first, they were quickly dismissed for 60 and then had to spend a long time in the field through most of the first and second days while the Players steadily built a big lead.
Billed as the "Coronation Match" because it celebrated the accession of the unpopular George IV, it was described by Derek Birley as "a suitably murky affair".
[12] The tide turned somewhat in the 1840s, when Alfred Mynn and Nicholas Felix were playing for the amateurs: in nine equal terms matches from 1842 to 1849, the Gentlemen won five against three for the Players and one drawn.
[12] This refers in part to the success of cricketers who came through the public schools and universities of the period, but in the main to the achievements of Gentlemen teams who, between 1865 and 1881, won 27 matches against the Players whilst losing only five (seven were drawn).
[12] The prestige of the fixture was in decline through the inter-war years, partly due to social change after the First World War and then during the Great Depression.
[15][16] The final edition of the fixture was played on 8, 10 and 11 September 1962 at the North Marine Road Ground, Scarborough.
Williams also says while a substitute fixture was sought, it was decided not to pursue this, as the new Gillette Cup limited-overs competition was beginning in 1963.
