William Palmer (cricketer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William (Will) Palmer (born late 1736 and christened 9 January 1737 in Coulsdon, Surrey; died February 1790 and buried 8 February 1790 in Coulsdon) was a famous English cricketer who played in the 1760s and 1770s.

Most of Palmer's career was before cricket's statistical record began in the 1772 English cricket season so relatively little is known of him. He played in first-class matches until 1776. He was a noted batsman in his day and had some fine innings in 1773 especially.

Palmer seems to have been a member of the Coulsdon club in Surrey but he also played a few times for Kent. In recorded matches from 1772, he made 20 known first-class appearances and took 2 catches but no wickets. He scored 478 runs in 37 innings with a top score of 68, which is a very good record considering the prevailing conditions that were entirely in the favour of the bowlers. He made 2 known scores of 50-plus and 4 more that were 25-plus ^[1].