Amateur status in first-class cricket
Encyclopedia
Amateur status in first-class cricket had a special meaning, especially in England
, in that the amateur in this context was not merely someone who played cricket in his spare time but a particular type of first-class cricket
er who existed officially until 1962, when the distinction between amateurs (aka the Gentlemen
) and professionals (aka the Players
) was abolished and all first-class players became nominally professional. It may be more accurate to say that the former Gentlemen were nominally amateurs.
fixture and the development of cricket in schools, universities and other centres of education
, both as a curricular and extracurricular activity. The schools and universities formed the "production line" that created nearly all the first-class amateur players.
The amateur was, by definition, "not a professional" and the dictum of the amateur-dominated Marylebone Cricket Club
was that "a gentleman ought not to make any profit from playing cricket". In theory, the amateur received expenses for playing cricket, whereas the professional was paid a wage or fee for playing. In fact, many leading amateurs were themselves "well paid" for playing and it is often supposed that the greatest amateur cricketer of them all, W G Grace, made more money out of playing the game than any genuine professional. In fairness to Grace, he was a general practitioner
who had to pay for a locum tenens to run his medical practice while he was playing cricket and he had a reputation for treating his poorer patients without charging a fee.
fixture, first arranged by Lord Frederick Beauclerk
in 1806, was "the ultimate declaration of social realities" and its title states the difference precisely: the amateurs were all perceived to be "gentlemen", most of whom played primarily for enjoyment; the professionals were simply "paid players", most of whom took the game, as their living, very seriously indeed.
The sporting types among the well-to-do relished strong competition and welcomed the opportunity to play against the best performers, who tended to be the working class professionals. But, although the gentry were happy to play with and against the working class, they still sought to emphasise their superiority and, consequently, the word amateur took on a peculiar meaning of its own in cricket terms that was redolent of social status and implied respectability. The amateurs insisted upon separate dressing rooms and the use of "Mr" or a more aristocratic title on the scorecard. For example, an amateur would be listed on the scorecard as "Mr P B H May
" or "P B H May, Esq."; a professional as "Laker
" or "Laker, J C".
On a personal level, amateurs would refer to their professional colleagues by surname only, while the professionals were required to called the amateurs "sir". This was not specific to cricket as it was the normal nomenclature used between middle and working class associates during the 19th century. The "Gentlemen and Players" distinction was a reflection of the higher status enjoyed by officers above other ranks in the British Army
, or between employers and the workforce in industry. It therefore seemed natural to most English people of all classes to have a similar distinction in sport. The Gentlemen v Players
matches were a highlight of the English cricket season, although the Players could usually put a much stronger side into the field than the Gentlemen.
This perception of amateurs as officers and gentlemen, and thereby leaders, meant that any team including an amateur would tend to appoint him as captain, even though some or all of the professional players might be more skilled technically. The idea was applied to Test cricket
from 1888. Some English touring teams to Australia until then had been all–professional, but England did not appoint another professional captain until Len Hutton
in 1952. It should be pointed out that many of the amateur captains (e.g., C B Fry
) were unquestionably worth their place in the side in terms of technical ability. In the 1930s, Walter Hammond switched from professional to amateur so that he could captain his country.
The abolition of amateur status in 1962 was partly the result of long-established disillusionment with a hypocrisy that has been termed "shamateurism". For example, some amateur players were given a largely nominal job as "club secretary" and there were sometimes allegations that a few were surreptitiously paid bonuses over and above the bona fide travelling and hotel expenses that they were entitled to claim. The underlying reason for the abolition was the tide of social change in the wake of the Second World War with the growth of both a more egalitarian society in general and a demand for dedicated professionalism in sports such as cricket and football
that became increasingly conscious of their business obligations and the need to generate income through success on the field.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in that the amateur in this context was not merely someone who played cricket in his spare time but a particular type of first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
er who existed officially until 1962, when the distinction between amateurs (aka the Gentlemen
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
) and professionals (aka the Players
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
) was abolished and all first-class players became nominally professional. It may be more accurate to say that the former Gentlemen were nominally amateurs.
Distinction between amateurs and professionals
The difference between the amateur and the professional in first-class cricket was much more than one of remuneration whereby the one received expenses for playing and the other was paid a wage. It was shaped by English class structure through a perception that the amateur held a higher station in life and was therefore a class apart from the professional. Within the scope of this article is the importance of the Gentlemen v PlayersGentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
fixture and the development of cricket in schools, universities and other centres of education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, both as a curricular and extracurricular activity. The schools and universities formed the "production line" that created nearly all the first-class amateur players.
The amateur was, by definition, "not a professional" and the dictum of the amateur-dominated Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
was that "a gentleman ought not to make any profit from playing cricket". In theory, the amateur received expenses for playing cricket, whereas the professional was paid a wage or fee for playing. In fact, many leading amateurs were themselves "well paid" for playing and it is often supposed that the greatest amateur cricketer of them all, W G Grace, made more money out of playing the game than any genuine professional. In fairness to Grace, he was a general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
who had to pay for a locum tenens to run his medical practice while he was playing cricket and he had a reputation for treating his poorer patients without charging a fee.
Social status
The real distinction between amateurs and professionals was one of social status: amateurs belonged to the upper and middle classes; professionals invariably came from the working class. The long-running Gentlemen v PlayersGentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
fixture, first arranged by Lord Frederick Beauclerk
Lord Frederick Beauclerk
Lord Frederick Beauclerk was an outstanding but controversial English first-class cricketer for 35 years from 1791 to 1825. On his retirement, he served as president of Marylebone Cricket Club in 1826.Beauclerk was the fourth son of the 5th Duke of St Albans and became a clergyman. He was Vicar...
in 1806, was "the ultimate declaration of social realities" and its title states the difference precisely: the amateurs were all perceived to be "gentlemen", most of whom played primarily for enjoyment; the professionals were simply "paid players", most of whom took the game, as their living, very seriously indeed.
The sporting types among the well-to-do relished strong competition and welcomed the opportunity to play against the best performers, who tended to be the working class professionals. But, although the gentry were happy to play with and against the working class, they still sought to emphasise their superiority and, consequently, the word amateur took on a peculiar meaning of its own in cricket terms that was redolent of social status and implied respectability. The amateurs insisted upon separate dressing rooms and the use of "Mr" or a more aristocratic title on the scorecard. For example, an amateur would be listed on the scorecard as "Mr P B H May
Peter May
-External links:* * at Cricket Archive*...
" or "P B H May, Esq."; a professional as "Laker
Jim Laker
James "Jim" Charles Laker was a cricketer who played for England in the 1950s, known for "Laker's match" in 1956 at Old Trafford, when he took nineteen wickets in England's victory against Australia...
" or "Laker, J C".
On a personal level, amateurs would refer to their professional colleagues by surname only, while the professionals were required to called the amateurs "sir". This was not specific to cricket as it was the normal nomenclature used between middle and working class associates during the 19th century. The "Gentlemen and Players" distinction was a reflection of the higher status enjoyed by officers above other ranks in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, or between employers and the workforce in industry. It therefore seemed natural to most English people of all classes to have a similar distinction in sport. The Gentlemen v Players
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
matches were a highlight of the English cricket season, although the Players could usually put a much stronger side into the field than the Gentlemen.
This perception of amateurs as officers and gentlemen, and thereby leaders, meant that any team including an amateur would tend to appoint him as captain, even though some or all of the professional players might be more skilled technically. The idea was applied to Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
from 1888. Some English touring teams to Australia until then had been all–professional, but England did not appoint another professional captain until Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
in 1952. It should be pointed out that many of the amateur captains (e.g., C B Fry
C B Fry
Charles Burgess Fry, known as C. B. Fry was an English polymath; an outstanding sportsman, politician, diplomat, academic, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricketer...
) were unquestionably worth their place in the side in terms of technical ability. In the 1930s, Walter Hammond switched from professional to amateur so that he could captain his country.
Abolition
The social destruction wrought by the Second World War and the high level of post-war taxation killed the amateur in English county cricket stone dead. After 1945 there weren't any lilies of the cricketing field who spun not nor wove; no one had sufficient time or income to devote seven days a week playing cricket without receiving some recompense...So it was the 'shamateur' came into being...receiving no direct payment as a player from the county clubs, but getting instead under-the-counter rewards as a junior administrator.
- Frank Tyson
Frank TysonFrank Holmes Tyson is an England cricketer of the 1950s who became a journalist and cricket commentator after he emigrated to Australia in 1960. Nicknamed "Typhoon Tyson" by the press he was regarded by many commentators as one of the fastest bowlers ever seen in cricket and took 76 wickets in...
The abolition of amateur status in 1962 was partly the result of long-established disillusionment with a hypocrisy that has been termed "shamateurism". For example, some amateur players were given a largely nominal job as "club secretary" and there were sometimes allegations that a few were surreptitiously paid bonuses over and above the bona fide travelling and hotel expenses that they were entitled to claim. The underlying reason for the abolition was the tide of social change in the wake of the Second World War with the growth of both a more egalitarian society in general and a demand for dedicated professionalism in sports such as cricket and football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
that became increasingly conscious of their business obligations and the need to generate income through success on the field.
Further reading
- C L R James, Beyond A Boundary, Hutchinson, 1963
- James PycroftJames PycroftJames Pycroft is chiefly known for writing The Cricket Field, one of the earliest books about cricket, published in 1851. Pycroft mythologised cricket as a noble, manly and essentially British activity James Pycroft (1813, Geyers House, Wiltshire – 1895-03-10, Brighton, Sussex) is chiefly known...
, The Cricket Field, Longman, 1854