First-class
55-487: One-day T20 Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales . It represents the historic county of Gloucestershire . Founded in 1870, Gloucestershire has always been first-class and has played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England. The club played its first senior match in 1870 and W. G. Grace
110-401: A left arm spinner for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club between 1903 and 1926, and from his figures could be considered one of the best bowlers to never play Test cricket . His career of 2,147 first-class wickets puts him 23rd on the all-time list of wicket-takers, and only Glamorgan 's Don Shepherd took more wickets without being capped. Owing to the strength of the competition at
165-504: A contemporary report (i.e., termed "a great match" in this case) and to have been played for a large sum of money was one in Sussex between two unnamed eleven-a-side teams contesting "fifty guineas apiece" in June 1697, a match of enormous historical significance but with no statistical data recorded. George Dennett Edward George Dennett (27 April 1879 – 15 September 1937) was
220-554: A difficult pitch against Essex . Joining the military to meet the demand for officers caused by World War I , Dennett would be stationed in India during the war and was obliged to remain there with his regiment when county cricket resumed in 1919. Although much was expected when he returned to England for the 1920 season , Dennett never really recovered his pre-war form — being helped to take 100 wickets again in 1921 by some abysmal county batting sides. In 1926, Dennett retired from
275-728: A first-class match, that the ICC clearly stipulates that its match type list "is not exhaustive and is merely indicative of the matches which would fall into the first-class definition". For example, the list includes matches of recognised first-class teams versus international touring teams; and the leading domestic championships (using their then-current names) such as the County Championship , Sheffield Shield , Ranji Trophy , etc. The absence of any ICC ruling about matches played before 1947 (or before 1895 in Great Britain)
330-617: A line between what was important historically and what should form part of the statistical record. Hence, for pre-1895 (i.e., in Great Britain) cricket matches, "first-class" is essentially a statistical concept while the historical concept is broader and takes account of historical significance. Webber's rationale was that cricket was "generally weak before 1864" (there was a greater and increasingly more organised effort to promote county cricket from about that time) and match details were largely incomplete, especially bowling analyses, which hindered compilation of records. According to Webber's view,
385-634: Is "taking" the first-class matches to be one against Sydney ( sic ), two each against Victoria , the Combined team and the Australian Eleven, and another against South Australia . In the fourth issue on 1 June 1882, James Lillywhite refers to first-class matches on the tour but gives a different list. The earliest known match scorecards date from 1744 but few have been found before 1772. The cards for three 1772 matches have survived and scorecards became increasingly common thereafter. At
440-399: Is a fairly comprehensive store of data about 19th century matches, certainly since 1825. Subsequently, Webber's view was challenged by Bill Frindall who believed that 1815 should be the startpoint to encompass the entire roundarm bowling phase of cricket's history, although roundarm did not begin in earnest until 1827. In Frindall's view, the inaugural first-class match should have been
495-438: Is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket . A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adjudged to be worthy of the status by virtue of the standard of the competing teams. Matches must allow for the teams to play two innings each, although in practice a team might play only one innings or none at all. The etymology of "first-class cricket"
550-457: Is problematic for those cricket statisticians who wish to categorise earlier matches in the same way. They have responded by compiling their own match lists and allocating a strictly unofficial first-class status to the matches they consider to have been of a high standard. It is therefore a matter of opinion only with no official support. Inevitable differences have arisen and there are variations in published cricket statistics . In November 2021,
605-484: Is unknown, but the term was used loosely before it acquired official status in 1895, following a meeting of leading English clubs. At a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC) in 1947, it was formally defined on a global basis. A significant omission of the ICC ruling was any attempt to define first-class cricket retrospectively. That has left historians, and especially statisticians, with
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#1732797912401660-651: The Benson and Hedges Cup , the C&;G Trophy and the Sunday League in the same season. The club maintained its success winning the C&;G Trophy in 2003 and 2004, beating Worcestershire in the final on both occasions. The club's captain for the 2006 season, Jon Lewis , became the first Gloucestershire player for nearly 10 years to play for England at Test match level, when he was picked to represent his country in
715-543: The Royal London One-Day Cup in the final at Lord's . Captain Michael Klinger , who flew back from Australia to play in the semi-final win over Yorkshire , was named the tournament's MVP scoring 531 runs at an average of over 106. In 2024 Gloucestershire broke their T20 Blast duck, winning it for the first time with wins over Sussex in the semi final and West Country rivals Somerset in
770-684: The Wagon Works Ground in the city. This ground remained in use for nearly 70 years, hosting over 150 first-class matches, before its use was discontinued in 1992. In 2012 the club investigated the possibility of returning to the Wagon Works Ground and making it their permanent headquarters after being refused permission for extensive redevelopment of the County Ground in Bristol, but ultimately this did not occur. In 1993,
825-596: The ACS had published its Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles, 1709–1863 in which it listed all the known matches during that period which it considered to have historical importance. The ACS did stipulate that they had taken a more lenient view of importance regarding matches played in the 18th century than they did of matches played in the 19th century. As they explained, surviving details of 18th century matches are typically incomplete while there
880-464: The ACS' Important Matches guide, which have left no scorecard and for which only a brief announcement or report exists, must be based on other factors. Contemporary importance was often measured by the amount of money at stake and the fact that a match was deemed notable enough to be reported in the press. The 18th century matches in the ACS list were primarily compiled to assist historians. The earliest match known to have been accorded superior status in
935-641: The Grace brothers and Billy Midwinter in their team, Gloucestershire won three Champion County titles in the 1870s. Since then Gloucestershire's fortunes have been mixed and they have never won the official County Championship . They struggled in the pre-war years of the County Championship because their best batsmen, apart from Gilbert Jessop and briefly Charlie Townsend , were very rarely available. The bowling, except when Townsend did sensational things on sticky wickets in late 1895 and late 1898,
990-419: The ICC and the application of ICC conditions when the match is played. In 2010, the ICC published its Classification of Official Cricket which includes the criteria with which a match must comply to achieve a desired categorisation. In the section on first-class cricket, there is a list of the types of match that should qualify. It is important to note, given the differences in opinion about what constitutes
1045-463: The ICC retrospectively applied first-class status to women's cricket , aligning it with the men's game. A key issue for the statisticians is when first-class cricket for their purpose is deemed to have begun. Writing in 1951, Roy Webber argued that the majority of matches prior to 1864 (i.e., the year in which overarm bowling was legalised) "cannot be regarded as first-class" and their records are used "for their historical associations". This drew
1100-556: The Sunday League in 2000. Cricket probably reached Gloucestershire by the end of the 17th century. It is known that the related sport of "Stow-Ball" aka "Stob-Ball" was played in the county during the 16th century. In this game, the bat was called a "stave". See Alice Gomme : The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland . A game in Gloucester on 22 September 1729 is the earliest definite reference to cricket in
1155-539: The Third Test against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge in June 2006. His figures in the first innings were 3–68, including a wicket in his first over in Test cricket, and he was widely praised for his debut performance. Following the retirement of several key players, such as "Jack" Russell and Mark Alleyne , Gloucestershire's fortunes declined. The club subsequently stripped back its playing budget as it looked to finance
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#17327979124011210-697: The answers. In 1880, the Cricket Reporting Agency was founded. It acquired influence through the decade especially by association with Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ( Wisden ) and the press came to generally rely on its information and opinions. The term acquired official status, though limited to matches in Great Britain, following a meeting at Lord's in May 1894 between the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) committee and
1265-400: The beginning of the 1860s, there were only four formally constituted county clubs. Sussex was the oldest, formed in 1839, and it had been followed by Kent , Nottinghamshire and Surrey . In the early 1860s, several more county clubs were founded, and questions began to be raised in the sporting press about which should be categorised as first-class, but there was considerable disagreement in
1320-631: The boundary between the counties is drawn by the River Avon . Although Gloucestershire CCC's home ground is in Bristol, which straddles the Avon (and has been a county in its own right since 1373), many people from south Bristol favour Somerset CCC despite the fact the club plays its home games much further away in Taunton . In the past, Somerset played first-class matches at venues in the south of Bristol. The club's debut home match in first-class cricket
1375-1038: The club moved its base in Gloucester to Archdeacon Meadow , a ground owned by The King's School . This venue was only used for first-class matches until 2008 but was used for four Twenty20 matches in 2010 and 2011, the most recent county games to take place in the city. All subsequent matches have taken place in either Bristol or Cheltenham. Source: Cricinfo Among the international players who have represented Gloucestershire are: Most first-class runs for Gloucestershire Qualification – 20,000 runs [2] Most first-class wickets for Gloucestershire Qualification – 1,000 wickets [3] Team totals Batting Best partnership for each wicket Bowling One-day / T20 cricket First-class cricket First-class cricket One Day International Limited overs (domestic) Twenty20 International Twenty20 (domestic) Other forms First-class cricket , along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket ,
1430-498: The club's main headquarters and hosted the majority of the county's matches. It was here that the club played its first List A match in 1963 against Middlesex , and its first Twenty20 match forty years later against Worcestershire . Somerset have played first-class matches at other venues in the city. In the 1920s Gloucestershire ceased playing at the Spa Ground in Gloucester , which had been in use since 1882, and switched to
1485-517: The club, and Wally Hammond , who scored 113 centuries for them. The club has had two notable periods of success: in the 1870s when it was unofficially acclaimed as the Champion County on at least three occasions, and from 1999 to 2006 when it won seven limited overs trophies, notably a 'double double' in 1999 and 2000 (both the Benson and Hedges Cup and the C&G Trophy in both seasons), and
1540-431: The country's highest playing standard. Later ICC rulings make it possible for international teams from associate members of the ICC to achieve first-class status but it is dependent on the status of their opponents in a given match. According to the ICC definition, a match may be adjudged first-class if: A Test match is a first-class match played between two ICC full member countries, subject to their current status at
1595-450: The county club because of its playing strength, especially his three sons W. G. , E. M. and Fred . The early history of Gloucestershire is dominated by the Grace family , most notably W. G. Grace , who was the club's original captain and held that post until his departure for London in 1899. His brother E. M. Grace , although still an active player, was the original club secretary. With
1650-587: The county used a venue outside Bristol for the first time when they played at the College Ground in the grounds of Cheltenham College . This venue has continued to be used regularly for the county's annual "Cheltenham festival" event, which in the modern era incorporates additional charity events and off-field entertainment. In 1889 Gloucestershire began to play matches at the Bristol County Ground in Bristol, which has subsequently served as
1705-690: The county. From then until the founding of the county club, very little has been found outside parish cricket. In the early 1840s, Dr Henry Grace and his brother-in-law Alfred Pocock founded the Mangotsfield Cricket Club which merged in 1846 with the West Gloucestershire Cricket Club, whose name was adopted until 1867, after which it became the Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. Grace hoped that Gloucestershire would join
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1760-544: The final. The Shire became the first county to take 20 wickets on a single Finals Day, while David Payne became the leading pace bowling wicket taker in the history of the T20 Blast after picking up three wickets in the final. Gloucestershire contest one of English cricket's fiercest rivalries, the West Country derby against Somerset , which usually draws the biggest crowd of the season for either team. Traditionally,
1815-503: The first-class county clubs but the situation was complicated in 1863 by the formation of a rival club called the Cheltenham and Gloucestershire Cricket Club. Dr Grace's club played Gloucestershire's initial first-class match versus Surrey at Durdham Down in Bristol on 2, 3 & 4 June 1870. Gloucestershire joined the (unofficial) County Championship at this time but the existence of the Cheltenham club seems to have forestalled
1870-577: The inaugural first-class match was the opening game of the 1864 season between Cambridge University and MCC at Fenner's on 12 and 13 May, Cambridge winning by 6 wickets. When the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) published its Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles in 1982, it tentatively agreed with Webber's 1864 start date by saying that "the line between first-class and other matches becomes more easily discernible about that date". A year earlier,
1925-435: The inaugural first-class match was the opening game of the 1895 season between MCC and Nottinghamshire at Lord's on 1 and 2 May, MCC winning by 37 runs. " Test match " was another loosely applied term at the time but the first list of matches considered to be "Tests" was conceived and published by South Australian journalist Clarence P. Moody in his 1894 book, Australian Cricket and Cricketers, 1856 to 1893–94 . His proposal
1980-467: The installation of its "constitutional trappings". The Cheltenham club was wound up in March 1871 and its chief officials accepted positions in the hierarchy of Gloucestershire. So, although the exact details and dates of the county club's foundation are uncertain, it has always been assumed that the year was 1870 and the club celebrated its centenary in 1970. What is certain is that Dr Grace was able to form
2035-717: The internet, the CricketArchive (CA) and ESPN Cricinfo (CI) databases both say the earliest first-class match was Hampshire v England at Broadhalfpenny Down on 24 and 25 June 1772. At that time, cricket matches were played with a two-stump wicket and exclusively underarm bowling , although other features of the modern game had been introduced. The opinion of these databases has been repudiated by both Wisden and Playfair Cricket Annual . Wisden agrees with Frindall by commencing its first-class records in 1815. Playfair supports Webber and begins its records in 1864. The status of earlier matches, including many in
2090-610: The lowest team total in the history county cricket, and Dennett took fifteen wickets for 21 runs in a single day. That season Dennett was the country’s leading wicket-taker with 201, but Colin Blythe was preferred to him in the Tests, and had been regarded as the superior bowler even when Dennett took over seventy wickets in the August of the dry 1906 summer. That year, Dennett achieved the rare feat of taking all ten wickets in an innings on
2145-527: The opening game of the 1815 season between MCC and Middlesex at Lord's on 31 May and 1 June, Middlesex winning by 16 runs. Notwithstanding Frindall's reputation, Webber's view has been revived and reinforced in recent times. For example, the Kent researcher Derek Carlaw began his study of Kent cricketers since 1806 by stating: "Part One is confined to players who appeared for Kent in important matches from 1806 to 1863 and first-class matches from 1864 to 1914". On
2200-572: The period from 1904 to 1914, Dennett never failed to take 100 wickets for Gloucestershire. At times, they were as dependent on him as Kent were on Tich Freeman in the early 1930s. Their dependence was such that Gloucestershire refused to let Dennett tour South Africa with the MCC in 1905–06 . Dennett accomplished some amazing feats. The most famous of these was when he took eight wickets for three runs in 25 balls to dismiss Northamptonshire for 12 runs at Gloucester in 1907. Northamptonshire’s total remains
2255-539: The problem of how to categorise earlier matches, especially those played in Great Britain before 1895. The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) has published a list of early matches which are believed to have been of a high standard. Test cricket , the highest standard of cricket, is statistically a form of first-class cricket, though the term "first-class" is mainly used to refer to domestic competition. A player's first-class statistics include any performances in Test matches. Before 1894 "first-class"
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2310-568: The redevelopment of the Bristol County Ground in order to maintain Category B status and secure future international games at their home ground. Performances suffered and despite reaching the final of the 2007 Twenty20 Cup, losing narrowly to Kent, the club failed to win any major trophies for a decade. In 2013 Gloucestershire stopped using 'Gloucestershire Gladiators' as its limited-overs name. Gloucestershire won their first major silverware for 11 years in 2015, overcoming favoured Surrey to win
2365-442: The season. However, in 1904, Dennett rose rapidly to become one of the leading bowlers of the day, finishing with 123 wickets and in the top ten of the national averages. Dennett relied on gentle spin, accuracy of length and a quick but very easy and rhythmic arm action. He would usually bowl on off stump and turn away, relying on variations of flight, his considerable bounce, and his off-side fieldsmen for his wickets. Throughout
2420-486: The secretaries of the clubs involved in the official County Championship , which had begun in 1890. As a result, those clubs became first-class from 1895 along with MCC, Cambridge University , Oxford University , senior cricket touring teams (i.e., Australia and South Africa at that time) and other teams designated as such by MCC (e.g., North v South , Gentlemen v Players and occasional "elevens" which consisted of recognised first-class players). Officially, therefore,
2475-617: The status of teams. For example, MCC was authorised to determine the status of matches played in Great Britain. To all intents and purposes, the 1947 ICC definition confirmed the 1894 MCC definition, and gave it international recognition and usage. Hence, official judgment of status is the responsibility of the governing body in each country that is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The governing body grants first-class status to international teams and to domestic teams that are representative of
2530-717: The time, Dennett was never able to progress even to lower representative levels. Dennett also failed to be nominated as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year , and only Worcestershire’s Reg Perks took more first-class wickets without ever being chosen. Born on 27 April 1879, Dennett began his cricket career in Scotland for the Grange club, but after a stint in the Army during the Boer War , was by 1902 playing club cricket in Bristol. There he
2585-501: The war include Tom Graveney , "Jack" Russell and overseas players Mike Procter , Zaheer Abbas and Courtney Walsh . Gloucestershire was very successful in one-day cricket in the late 1990s and early 2000s winning several titles under the captaincy of Mark Alleyne and coaching of John Bracewell . The club operated on a small budget and was famed as a team greater than the sum of its parts, boasting few international stars. Gloucestershire's overall knockout record between 1999 and 2002
2640-418: Was 28 wins and seven losses from 37 games, including 16 wins from 18 at the Bristol County Ground . The club's run of success started by defeating Yorkshire to win the Benson & Hedges Super Cup in 1999 before then beating neighbours Somerset in the 1999 NatWest Trophy final at Lord's . In 2000 Gloucestershire completed a hat-trick of one-day titles, winning all the domestic limited overs tournaments,
2695-542: Was a common adjective applied to cricket matches in England, used loosely to suggest that a match had a high standard; adjectives like "great", "important" and "major" were also loosely applied to such matches, but there tended to be differences of opinion. In the inaugural issue of Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game on 10 May 1882, the term is used twice on page 2 in reference to the recently completed tour of Australia and New Zealand by Alfred Shaw's XI . The report says it
2750-561: Was discovered by Gloucestershire captain Gilbert Jessop , and after trialing with Gloucestershire early in 1903, Dennett would gain a place in the team when former spinner Arthur Paish was dropped after having been no-balled for throwing. In his first season, despite exceptionally helpful pitches due to a very wet summer, Dennett fared poorly until August when he aided the veteran Roberts in Gloucestershire’s only three wins of
2805-540: Was formally defined by the then Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC) on 19 May 1947. It was made clear that the definition "will not have retrospective effect". The definition is as follows: A match of three or more days' duration between two sides of eleven players officially adjudged first-class, shall be regarded as a first-class fixture. Matches in which either team have more than eleven players or which are scheduled for less than three days shall not be regarded as first-class. The Governing body in each country shall decide
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#17327979124012860-542: Was played at Durdham Down in the Clifton district of Bristol . This was the only time the county used this venue for a match. The following year Gloucestershire began to play matches at the Clifton College Close Ground in the grounds of Clifton College in the same part of the city, and this remained a regular venue for the county until the 1930s, hosting nearly 100 first-class matches. In 1872
2915-560: Was their captain . The club plays home games at the Bristol County Ground in the Bishopston area of north Bristol . A number of games are also played at the Cheltenham Cricket Festival at the College Ground, Cheltenham and matches have also been played at the Gloucester cricket festival at The King's School, Gloucester . Gloucestershire's most famous players have been W. G. Grace , whose father founded
2970-417: Was very weak until George Dennett emerged – then it had the fault of depending far too much on him. Wally Hammond , who still holds many of the county's batting records formed part of an occasionally strong inter-war team, although the highest championship finish during this period was second in 1930 and 1931, when Charlie Parker and Tom Goddard formed a devastating spin attack. Outstanding players since
3025-610: Was widely accepted after a list of 39 matches was reproduced in the 28 December 1894 issue of Cricket magazine. The list began with the Melbourne Cricket Ground match played 15–17 March 1877 and ended with a recent match at the Association Ground, Sydney played 14–20 December 1894. All of Moody's matches, plus four additional ones, were retrospectively recognised as Test matches and also, thereby, as first-class matches. The term "first-class cricket"
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