n/a
1840-06-01
Nicholas Wanostrocht ('Felix'), the Kent batsman and schoolmaster, patented in 1837 the catapulta — a mechanical contraption that propelled a cricket ball at a batsman by means of a sprung Indian-rubber arm. The first bowling machine in cricket history, it was demonstrated at Lord's, used at Felix's school for batting practice, and described in his 1845 manual.
Town Malling; Kent
1837-08-10
Fuller Pilch's first century after his 1836 transfer from Norfolk to Kent came in the summer of 1837 — a landmark for both the player and the town that had hired him. Town Malling had paid Pilch £100 a year to play for the local club and operate its ground; the century was an immediate and public vindication of the investment, and announced Pilch as the leading batter of the late 1830s.
n/a
1837-06-26
On 20 June 1837 William IV died and Princess Victoria, eighteen, became Queen. Within a week the MCC committee — chaired by William Ward — voted a formal loyal address to the new monarch and dispatched it to St James's Palace. The address, courteously acknowledged from the Queen's secretary, was one of dozens received from sporting and civic bodies but is the formal opening of MCC's relationship with the Victorian monarchy.
Alfred Mynn (Kent) vs James Dearman (Yorkshire)
1837-08-21
In August 1837 the Sheffield batsman James Dearman, smarting from his innings-and-107 thrashing at Town Malling the previous September, demanded a return single-wicket match against Alfred Mynn. The rematch was played at Brighton on 21-22 August 1837 and went the same way as the first: Mynn won by an innings and 67 runs.