1814 English cricket season

1814 was the 28th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The current Lord's was opened and staged its first match. Jem Broadbridge made his debut in important matches.

Honours
 Most runs – Lord Frederick Beauclerk 126 (HS 59*)
 Most wickets – Thomas Howard and William Lambert 11 apiece

Events
 The site of Lord's Middle Ground was requisitioned by Parliament for the building of the Regent's Canal. Thomas Lord contacted the Eyre family, erstwhile owners of the ground, and persuaded them to lease to him another parcel of land in St John's Wood, about half a mile further north at a place called North Bank. This site had previously been a duckpond. In the winter of 1813–14, Lord again had his turf literally dug up and removed. He built a high perimeter fence, a tavern and a pavilion at what became the current Lord's ground.
 On 22 June 1814, MCC played the first match at Lord's against Hertfordshire, then as now a minor county.
 The first match of importance at Lord's was played 13–15 July 1814 when MCC hosted a team called St John's Wood that included a number of Surrey players including William Beldham, William Lambert and William Ward.
 Jem Broadbridge made his first-class debut.
 With the Napoleonic War at its height, cricket continued to be badly impacted by the consequent loss of both manpower and investment.  First-class matches had become few and far between since 1810 and only 4 are recorded in 1814:
 13–15 July — MCC v St John's Wood @ Lord's
 28–29 July — Brighton v Epsom @ Royal New Ground, Brighton
 2–4 August — Lord Frederick Beauclerk's XI v Douglas Kinnaird's XI @ Lord's
 Another match that has sometimes been regarded as important is Beauclerk's XI v George Osbaldeston's XI @ Goodwood Park on 22–23 July.

Debutants
1814 debutants included:
 Jem Broadbridge (Sussex)
 Benjamin Dark (Hampshire)
 John T. Jones (Middlesex)
 G. Wells (Surrey)

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links
 
 

Category:1814 in English cricket
Category:English cricket seasons from 1787 to 1815