Cricket in England
Cricket in England is one of the most popular sports in the country and is known to have been played in England since the 16th century. The Marylebone Cricket Club, based at Lords, developed the modern rules of play and conduct.There are eighteen professional county clubs, seventeen of them in England and one in Wales. All eighteen counties are named after, and were originally representative of, historic counties. These clubs are heavily dependent on subsidies from the England and Wales Cricket Board, which makes its money from television and endorsement contracts and attendances at international matches. The English cricket season traditionally starts at the beginning of April and runs though to the second half of September although in recent years counties have played pre season friendly matches at the very end of March.
1846 English cricket season
1846 was the 60th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). William Clarke founded his All-England Eleven (the AEE) which, taking advantage of the railways, travelled throughout Great Britain and was a significant factor in the spread of cricket throughout the country.The earliest first-class match at the Oval was Surrey Club v. MCC on 25 & 26 May. Only 194 runs were scored in the match with a top score of 13. William Hillyer took 14 wickets to help MCC win by 48 runs.