All England Eleven Cricket Teams

William Clarke was originally was a bricklayer but an advantageous second marriage enabled him to buy land next to a pub and found Trent Bridge. While there he earned good money from staging matches, but realised that the south was where the cash was to be made. He headed to London, earning his keep as a net bowler for MCC, and in 1846 he launched the All England XI, in effect an early version of World Series Cricket, signing the best players in the country to tour against local sides.

Professionals were poorly paid at the time and Clarke seized on the opportunity afforded by this and the expansion of the rail network which made traveling between cities practical. His side, dressed in white shirts with red ploka dots, white trousers and top hats, played their first game on August 31, 1846 in Sheffield and lost. It was a rare defeat. Much as happens with Lashings, local clubs had to agree to pay costs and businesses set up marquees to entertain clients. Clarke, always with an eye for a profit, took the lion's share of the income while paying his stars enough to ensure they stayed loyal.

Clarke's touring team showcased the best players of the day, drawing large crowds and usually playing against sides of anything between XII and XXII. In 1851 they played 34 matches, often with massive betting surrounding games as well. In Manchester one match was said to have had £40,000 staked on it. As late as the early 1870s All England were still playing more than 20 matches each summer.

The club's success inevitably attracted rivals and in 1852 John Wisden and Jimmy Dean launched the United All-England XI much to Clarke's fury. In 1858 a New All-England XI followed and four years after that Fred Caesar's New All-England XI. By then Clarke, the founder and inspiration, had died and as the decade rolled on the appeal of these sides was diminishing as county cricket become more popular.

The All-England XI played for the last time in 1878.
Martin Williamson