For three days in the summer of 1882 the eyes of the English and Welsh cricket worlds were fixed on a small corner of Montgomeryshire.
England’s United XI’s visit brought some of the stars of the Victorian era to Lymore to play against a team of Montgomery cricketers.
The event was celebrated with the local newspaper at the time: “It has been some time since, if any, such deeds of bravery were entered in the annals of the Montgomery cricket field as obtained at Lymore Park, Montgomery ‘last Thursday, Friday and Saturday’.
For three days in June 1882, the Montgomery Cricket Club beat a team of English cricket stars on their home ground in Lymore.
The United XI of England. Harry Jupp, the first Englishman to face a ball in Test Cricket, is on the right, and WG Grace’s cousin Walter Gilbert is in the center.
The United XI of England played against the Australian touring team that created the myth of the ashes later that year.
The team was led by Walter Gilbert, the cousin and regular opening partner of WG Grace in Gloucestershire.
It also featured Harry Jupp, the first Englishman to face a ball in test cricket and the first to score half a century for his country.
There was also John Platts, who first scored a century for Derbyshire but is mostly remembered as the bowler who rolled the ball at Lord’s in 1870 and killed Nottinghamshire batsman George Summers.
Montgomery’s main advantage in the game was that their team consisted of 22 players.
Photo of the Montgomery Twenty-Two who defeated the United XI. Frank Cobden, the famous gentleman player, is the big man in the middle of the back row.
Nine of them were regular players for the club, with the team being reinforced by cricketers from other teams in the region.
Seven of them had experience in county cricket for Shropshire or Worcestershire, including Welshpool player Harry Baines, who had also played for England Colts in 1877.
There was also Worcestershire pro Arthur Millward, who was a top level referee, including the Headingley Ashes Test in 1921, and Frank Cobden, a famous gentleman cricketer who once did a hat trick for Cambridge to win secure the annual varsity match against their old rival Oxford.
The event itself was a great occasion with refreshment tents provided by the Checkers Hotel and the Bricklayers Arms.
A photo showing the twenty-two of Montgomery in the field with the refreshment tents and a small stall in the background.
A grandstand was provided by Potters of Welshpool and the Newtown Brass and Reed Band provided musical entertainment.
Montgomery fought first, scoring 120 runs with Frank Cobden scoring the highest score at 30. By the end of the first day, Montgomery bowlers Arthur Millward and local CB Williams had claimed four wickets, including both Walter Gilbert and Harry Jupp.
The next day, the United XI innings collapsed to 76 and Montgomery fought again, this time with 115 runs.
On the final day, after a heavy batting of medium order, the United XI’s tail collapsed and Montgomery won with 62 runs.
A photo in which Walter Gilbert is about to roll with Harry Jupp in the middle. The batsman is Montgomery’s captain Harry Evans and the wicket keeper is Charles Kennedy of Sussex.