Billy Beldham

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Billy Beldham bigraphy, stories - Cricketer

Billy Beldham : biography

5 February 1766 – 1862 (aged 96)-February-20

William ("Silver Billy") Beldham (5 February 1766, Wrecclesham, near Farnham, Surrey – 20 February 1862, Tilford, Surrey) was an English professional cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of the sport’s underarm era. In 1997, he was selected by John Woodcock of The Times as one of his 100 Greatest Cricketers of All Time. In some sources, his name has been given as "Beldam" or "Beldum".

Footnote

• a)Note that surviving match records to 1825 are incomplete and any statistical compilation of a player’s career in that period is based on the known details.

• b)"Given men" were players specially selected from other teams, including current opponents, to try and ensure that the teams were evenly matched for the purpose of gambling on the match result. The practice was common in the 18th century but declined as gambling was forced out of cricket in the 19th century.

Personality

Beldham was described by Nyren, who knew him personally, as "a close-set, active man, standing about five feet eight inches and a half". He was called "Silver Billy" because of his light-coloured hair and fair complexion.

Unlike his contemporary Lord Frederick Beauclerk, Beldham was noted for his integrity and fair play. It was said of him that the only blot on his playing career was that he once biased a ball he bowled against Beauclerk, during a single wicket match at Lords in June 1806, with a lump of mud and sawdust. It had the desired effect.Lucas, p.206 (footnote).

During a period of the game’s history when betting and match-fixing was rife, Beldham was not immune to the lure of easy money. When interviewed by Pycroft in the late 1830s, he said: "You may hear that I sold matches. I will confess I once was sold myself by two men, one of whom would not bowl, and the other would not bat, his best, and lost ten pounds. The next match, at Nottingham, I joined in selling, and got my money back. But for this once, I could say I never was bought in my life ; and this was not for want of offers from C and other turfmen, though often I must have been accused. For where it was worth while to buy, no man could keep a character; because to be out without runs or to miss a catch was, by the disappointed betting-men, deemed proof as strong as Holy Writ".Pycroft, Oxford Memories Vol. II, p.125.

Early life

Beldham was born in the village of Wrecclesham, on the Hampshire/Surrey border just over a mile south-west of Farnham. His family had a farm at Wrecclesham.Mote, p.120.

His exact birthplace has not been precisely identified but was probably Yew Tree Cottage (built in the early 16th century) as in 1820 – the year before his retirement and move to Tilford – the house was surrendered by a William Beldham to a John Wells (the significance being that Beldham’s brother-in-law was fellow cricketer "Honest" John Wells): additionally, there is a strong local tradition that this was his birthplace. He was the fourth of six children (and third son) of George Beldham (1728–1811) and Ann Benfil (or Bonfil) (1728–1793), and his ancestry in the area can be traced back at least seven generations to Allen Beldham (born mid-16th century). Nothing is known of his schooling but, as he was able to sign his name on his first marriage certificate as opposed to making a witnessed mark, it is likely he had a basic grounding.The preceding information is sourced from Collyer, pp.12–15, and also the Ancestry.co.uk & Familysearch.org websites

Cricket career

Beldham’s recorded career spanned the 1782 to 1821 seasons and is one of the longest on record by a major player. He is credited by CricketArchive with 189 first-class appearances from 1787 to 1821 but this is subject to the caveat that records of matches played prior to 1825 are incomplete.

The earliest mention of Billy Beldham seems to be in a reference to two players called Beldum (sic) who represented Farnham Cricket Club in its earliest known match at Odiham on Tuesday, 13 August 1782. The source provides a scorecard. Farnham, who won, included J. Wells (probably James Wells), G. Beldum (almost certainly Beldham’s elder brother George) and Beldum (no initial), who scored 1 and 16.Waghorn, p.55. If the latter was Billy Beldham, as is possible, he would have been 16 at the time and so this was his first known match.