Greatest Cricket Moments

Introduction of the Shouldered Cricket Bat — Petersfield Workshop, 1815

1815-04-01n/aCricket bat design innovation, Petersfield, Hampshire, c. 18151 min readSeverity: Mild

Summary

Around 1815 the Petersfield bat-maker William Small — son of the Hambledon professional John Small Senior — began producing cricket bats with a recognisable 'shoulder', tapering from a thicker blade up to a narrower handle. The design replaced the curved, club-like underarm bat that had been standard since the eighteenth century and is the immediate ancestor of the modern cricket bat shape.

Background

Cricket bats in 1810 were still essentially the same as those of 1770: curved, heavy, without a defined shoulder. Bat-makers were small craftsmen, mostly attached to particular cricket centres.

What Happened

Cricket bats through the underarm era had been broadly curved, like a hockey stick — designed for ground-level bowling. As the game moved towards lengthier deliveries and (controversially) towards roundarm, the curved bat was increasingly impractical. William Small, working from his father's old Petersfield workshop, began experimenting with a straighter blade that tapered into a defined shoulder where the handle was spliced in. The new shape gave better control of vertical strokes. By the late 1810s the shouldered bat was standard at Lord's; the curved underarm bat survived only at village level.

Timeline

1770s

Curved underarm bat standardised

c. 1815

William Small introduces the shouldered bat at Petersfield

1820

Shouldered bat standard at Lord's

1825

Curved bat effectively obsolete in major cricket

Aftermath

The shouldered bat spread rapidly between 1815 and 1820. By 1825 the curved bat was effectively obsolete in major cricket.

⚖️ The Verdict

The transition from the curved underarm bat to the recognisably modern cricket bat — the most important equipment change of the early nineteenth century.

Legacy & Impact

Every modern cricket bat descends from William Small's 1815 design. The shouldered, splice-handled blade is the foundation of bat-making to the present day.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are bats from this period preserved?▾
A small number of pre-1820 bats survive in the MCC Museum at Lord's and in regional cricket collections. The shape change is clearly visible across the run of surviving examples.

Tags

#regency-cricket#underarm#cricket-bat#equipment#petersfield#1815#iconic-moment

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