Eton v Harrow

The Eton v Harrow cricket match is an annual match between Eton College and Harrow School. It is one of the longest-running annual sporting fixtures in the world. It is the only annual school cricket match still to be played at Lord's Cricket Ground.

Early years

Cricket was being played by teams at English public schools by the time of the English Commonwealth. Horace Walpole entered Eton in 1726, and later wrote that playing cricket was a common occurrence at the school. Westminster School played matches against Eton at Tothill Fields in the 1790s. By the early 19th century, cricket was well established in English public and grammar schools.

There is some evidence for earlier matches between Eton and Harrow School, but teams from the schools definitely played a cricket match at Lord's Old Ground in 1805, probably organised by the boys. They moved to Lord's Cricket Ground for a rematch in 1818, and played again in 1822. From 1822, the match has been an annual event, with gaps in 1829–1831, 1856 and during the World Wars.

A triangular tournament at Lord's involving Winchester – Public Schools Week – ran until 1854, and were emulated by other matches involving the leading public schools – Charterhouse, Rugby, Westminster and Winchester. The schools were early adopters of cricket caps: Eton (light blue) and Winchester (blue) in 1851, and Harrow (striped) in 1852, followed by Cambridge (1861) and Oxford (1863).

The first Eton-Harrow match in 1805 preceded by one year the first Gentlemen v Players in 1806. Charles Wordsworth, nephew of William Wordsworth, played for Harrow in the four matches in 1822 to 1825, and arranged the first University Match at Lord's in 1827, two years before the first Boat Race. Many Eton and Harrow players went on to win blues at Oxford and Cambridge. Eton v Harrow was joined by the University Match and Gentlemen v Players as the three key features in the England cricket season.

Heyday

In its heyday, in the late 19th century and early 20th century, "the School's day" was one of the highlights of the London "season", alongside Henley Royal Regatta and Royal Ascot. The number of spectators necessitated the first introduction of viewing stands and a boundary rope at Lord's in 1866. The game made national newspaper headlines, and was attended by schoolboys large and small, their elder brothers and fathers, accompanied by their ladies and other members of London society. The match in 1914 was attended by over 38,000 people during its two days. Even in 2008, the match attracted a larger crowd than any of Middlesex's first-class matches.[1]

The influence of the Eton v Harrow match waned as the dominance of amateurs in cricket was replaced by increasing professionalism, noticeably after the First World War and to an even greater extent after the Second.

It was not just Eton and Harrow that played at Lord's. There was a group of eight schools called 'The Lord's Schools' which had fixtures each season. These were Eton College, Harrow School, Tonbridge School, Marlborough College, Rugby School, Cheltenham College, The Oratory School, Haileybury College, Clifton College and Beaumont College (now closed).

Players

Many famous individuals and famous cricketers have played in the match. Lord Byron played for Harrow in the 1805 match, Field Marshal Earl Alexander of Tunis for Harrow in Fowler's match in 1910, Bolo Whistler for Harrow in 1916, Alec Douglas-Home for Eton in 1921 and 1922, Terence Rattigan for Harrow in 1929 and Henry Blofeld for Eton in 1955. Early prominent cricketers who played in the Eton v Harrow match include E. H. Budd, John Kirwan and Herbert Jenner (Eton); and Edward Grimston, Charles Harenc and Charles Wordsworth (Harrow). Between the 1870s and the 1890s, there were the Studd brothers, Bernard Bosanquet, Ivo Bligh, Martin Bladen (who later became Lord Hawke) and George Harris (who later became Lord Harris) (Eton); and A. N. Hornby, Archie MacLaren and Stanley Jackson (Harrow). Lionel Tennyson (later 3rd Baron Tennyson) played for Eton before the First World War, and Gubby Allen just afterwards. Around this time the prominent future amateurs for Derbyshire included Anthony Jackson, Geoffrey Jackson, Guy Jackson, Wilfred Hill-Wood and Basil Hill-Wood.

Other players who were later first-class cricketers were not selected for their school, including Charles Lyttelton (later 10th Viscount Cobham), Wykeham Cornwallis (later 2nd Baron Cornwallis), Nigel Haig and Denis Hill-Wood.

The match has included fifteen players from Eton and six from Harrow who later played for the England national cricket team, most recently Nick Compton (Harrow) in Tests and Matthew Fleming (Eton) in ODIs. In recent years, few players have gone on to become professionals in first-class cricket, exceptions being Nick Compton (Harrow), and Jamie Bruce and Alex Loudon (both Eton).

Amongst the cricketers who became the coach at Eton or Harrow after their playing days, the most famous was perhaps George Hirst, who coached at Eton for 18 years from 1921.[2]

Results and records

See also

Further reading

References

External links