Greatest Cricket Moments

Birth of John Wisden — Future Almanack Founder, September 1826

1826-09-05n/aBirth of John Wisden, Brighton, 5 September 18261 min readSeverity: Mild

Summary

On 5 September 1826 John Wisden was born at Brighton — the future Sussex fast bowler, England representative, and founder of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1864), the most important reference work in the history of the game.

What Happened

Wisden was born to a working-class Brighton family. His father, a builder, died when John was nine; he was apprenticed to the Sussex professional Tom Box. By his late teens he was a leading roundarm bowler. His later career included founding the John Wisden & Co sports goods firm and, in 1864, the Cricketers' Almanack — published continuously ever since.

Timeline

5 Sep 1826

Wisden born at Brighton

1845

First-class debut

1850

Takes 10 wickets in an innings, all bowled

1864

Founds Wisden Cricketers' Almanack

1884

Wisden dies

Aftermath

Wisden played first-class cricket from 1845 to 1863, took the rare 'all bowled' wicket-haul (10 wickets in an innings, all bowled) in 1850, and founded the Almanack in 1864.

⚖️ The Verdict

The birth of the most influential cricket administrator-publisher of the nineteenth century.

Legacy & Impact

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is the single most important continuing publication in cricket. Wisden's birth in 1826 is the conventional start of that arc.

Tags

#roundarm-era#john-wisden#brighton#almanack#1826#iconic-moment

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Middlesex County Cricket Club Founded — Cricket Comes Home to Lord's, 1864

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Middlesex County Cricket Club was founded on 2 February 1864 at a meeting in London, the same year in which the MCC legalised overarm bowling and John Wisden published his first Almanack. It was one of several county clubs formally constituted in the busy years of 1863–65 as English cricket reorganised itself around a county structure that would eventually evolve into a formal championship.

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