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William Jefferies

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This article is about the cricketer. For the Mormon pioneer, see William Jefferies, Jr.

William Jefferies
Personal information
Born1777
Nottingham
Diedunknown
RoleBatsman
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1800–1818Nottingham Cricket Club
Source: Scores & Biographies, 18 September 2022

William Jefferies (christened 1 July 1777 in Nottingham; date of death unknown) was an English professional cricketer. He was active through the years 1800–1818 when he played for Nottingham Cricket Club.

1801–1803

Jefferies is first recorded in Nottingham's match at Leicester against Leicester Cricket Club on 25 August 1800. Nottingham won by an innings and 38 runs after dismissing Leicester for totals of 15 and 8. Nottingham were all out for 61 in their first innings. Jefferies was number 9 in the batting order and was run out for 3. He did not take any wickets or catches. Arthur Haygarth commented that Leicester's match total of 23 was the lowest in his experience.[1] Five weeks later, on 29 September, Jefferies played against Sheffield Cricket Club at Mansfield. He batted at number 10 and scored 1 in each innings. Nottingham scored 67 and 102 against 24 and 22 by Sheffield to win by 123 runs.[2] Haygarth says this was the first recorded match between Nottingham and Sheffield but later research has found that they played each other as early as 1771.[3][4] Both of the 1800 matches are included in the ACS' "Important Matches" guide.[5]

Jefferies appeared in a minor match for Nottingham in 1801.[6] Scores & Biographies has no record of him in 1802.[7] In 1803, Jefferies played at Lord's for a combined Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire (N&L) team against Hampshire. The N&L team had Lord Frederick Beauclerk as a guest player. N&L were all out for 116 and Hampshire replied with 253, a first innings lead of 137. N&L were then dismissed for 117, so Hampshire won by an innings and 20 runs. But for Beauclerk, who scored 34 and 74, the defeat would have been much worse. Jefferies batted at number 8, scoring 4 and 2.[8] This match is also in the ACS guide.[5]

1814–1818

There is no further mention of Jefferies until 1814 when he played for Nottingham against Rutlandshire at Burghley Park on 20 September. Rutlandshire batted first and were all out for 35. Jefferies completed one catch to take the ninth wicket. Nottingham scored 228 in reply and Jefferies, batting at number 8, top-scored with 67. The number 10 batsman, William Leeson, scored 65. Rutlandshire were all out for 30 in their second innings so Nottingham won by an innings and 163 runs.[9] Cricket had been seriously disrupted by the Napoleonic Wars. Only a year earlier, when reporting on a match for the first time in three years, the Nottingham Review had commented that the sport was thought to have "fallen into disuse, if not disgrace".[10]

Jefferies is mentioned once in 1815 when he played in a minor match on 4 October against a village team who were allowed sixteen players. Nottingham still won by 4 wickets. Jefferies made two low scores and held one catch.[11] Nottingham travelled to Knavesmire in July 1816 for a 12-a-side match against the Ripon club. The team included R. Jefferies, who scored 41 in his only innings – it is not known if this player was related to William Jefferies. Nottingham won by an innings and 108 runs.[12]

In June 1817, Nottingham entertained an England XI on the Forest Ground. The visitors had a very strong team including Beauclerk, Billy Beldham, E. H. Budd, Thomas Howard, William Lambert and George Osbaldeston. Nottingham were allowed 22 players in the most extreme form of "odds match". Both of the Jefferies played. William Jefferies scored 2 and 5 but he also took a catch to dismiss Budd for only 4. Nottingham won by 30 runs but the match became the cause of a major scandal.[13] It was later alleged that both sides had agreed with gambling interests to fix the result. Beauclerk used this as an excuse to have his enemies Lambert and Osbaldeston banned from playing at Lord's.[14][15]

The final mention of William Jefferies is in a repeat of the Nottingham XXII v England match on 7 September 1818. This was again played on the Forest Ground. Jefferies scored 6 in the first innings but did not bat in the second as Nottingham won by 14 wickets. Haygarth comments on the weakness of the England team which included four unknown players.[16]

References

  1. ^ Haygarth, pp. 278–279.
  2. ^ Haygarth, p. 282.
  3. ^ Buckley, p. 6.
  4. ^ ACS, p. 24.
  5. ^ a b ACS, p. 31.
  6. ^ Haygarth, p. 282.
  7. ^ Haygarth, pp. 293–303.
  8. ^ Haygarth, p. 282.
  9. ^ Haygarth, p. 378.
  10. ^ ACS, p. 4.
  11. ^ Haygarth, pp. 384–385.
  12. ^ Haygarth, p. 392.
  13. ^ Haygarth, p. 401.
  14. ^ Birley, pp. 60–61.
  15. ^ Major, pp. 151–152.
  16. ^ Haygarth, p. 418.

Sources

  • ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863. Nottingham: ACS.
  • Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. London: Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 978-18-54107-10-7.
  • Buckley, G. B. (1937). Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Birmingham: Cotterell & Co. ISBN 978-19-00592-49-9.
  • Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Kennington: Frederick Lillywhite. ISBN 978-19-00592-23-9.
  • Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-00-07183-64-7.

William Jefferies at ESPNcricinfo

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