1846 English cricket season
The 1846 English cricket season saw the foundation of William Clarke's famed All-England Eleven.
The earliest first-class match at the Oval was Surrey Club v. MCC on 25 & 26 May. Only 194 runs were scored in the match with a top score of 13. WR Hillyer took 14 wickets to help MCC win by 48 runs.
Surrey CCC played its initial first-class match v. Kent at the Oval on 25 & 26 June, winning by 10 wickets.
Social conditions, including the railways, were a major factor in the debut of the travelling All England Eleven. The team was founded in Nottingham by William Clarke, who also opened the Trent Bridge cricket ground. The first AEE match was at Sheffield in September and they played others in Manchester and Leeds.
The All England Eleven played its inaugural fixture against a Sheffield XX in September. The AEE team was: W Clarke, J Dean, W Dorrinton, F Pilch, A Mynn, J Guy, W Martingell, T Sewell, G Butler, VC Smith and W Hillyer. Other players who represented the AEE in its early days included G Parr, FW Lillywhite, N Felix, W Denison, T Box and OC Pell.
T Box was the leading runscorer with 413 @ 20.65
Other leading batsmen were: N Felix, CG Taylor, A Mynn, WR Hillyer, J Dean, RP Long, TM Adams, G Parr
WR Hillyer was the leading wicket-taker with 152
Other leading bowlers were: A Mynn, FW Lillywhite, J Dean, W Martingell, W Clarke, J Wisden
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