Lamborn
Encyclopedia
Lamborn was a significant English cricket
er who played for the Hambledon Club
in the 18th century and is recognised as one of the greatest innovators in the history of bowling
.
, beginning with Surrey
in 1777. He played for Chertsey Cricket Club
in 1778. He played several games for All-England and then for Hampshire
from 1780. In 1781, he was also associated with Sir Horatio Mann
in east Kent
but was not recorded again after that season.
Few personal details of Lamborn are known, though it has been supposed his first name was William, but this is based on an error arising from confusion with the much later cricketer William Lambert
. Lamborn's nickname among his fellow players was "The Little Farmer", which does at least give some clues concerning his size and occupation.
spin bowler
with a low, flighted delivery and what has been described as a "twist from off to leg" (i.e., an off-break). The natural way for an underarm bowler to spin the ball is the leg-break (i.e., from the leg side and towards the off side of a right-handed batsman) but Lamborn seems to have invented the off-break by spinning from the off side and towards the leg side of a right-handed batsman. It is said he was "no batter" and the scorecards confirm this.
The pitched delivery
was still new, having been introduced in the 1760s, when Lamborn played. Until the 1760s, bowlers had always rolled or skimmed the ball towards the batsman so spin bowling itself was a new skill. According to John Nyren
, Lamborn was "the first I remember who introduced this deceitful and teasing style of delivering the ball".
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played for the Hambledon Club
Hambledon Club
The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England.-Foundation:...
in the 18th century and is recognised as one of the greatest innovators in the history of bowling
Bowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
.
Career
Lamborn made 22 known appearances in first-class cricketFirst-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...
, beginning with Surrey
Surrey county cricket teams
Surrey county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. The first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford.-17th century:...
in 1777. He played for Chertsey Cricket Club
Chertsey Cricket Club
Chertsey Cricket Club in Surrey is one of the oldest in England. Its own website dates its founding as 1737 but in fact matches involving a Chertsey team date from 1736....
in 1778. He played several games for All-England and then for Hampshire
Hampshire county cricket teams
Hampshire county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that...
from 1780. In 1781, he was also associated with Sir Horatio Mann
Sir Horatio Mann
Sir Horatio Mann, 2nd Baronet was an English MP. He is remembered as a member of the Hambledon Club in Hampshire and a patron of Kent cricket. He was an occasional player but rarely in first-class matches....
in east Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
but was not recorded again after that season.
Few personal details of Lamborn are known, though it has been supposed his first name was William, but this is based on an error arising from confusion with the much later cricketer William Lambert
William Lambert (cricketer)
William Lambert was an English professional cricketer in the first two decades of the 19th century...
. Lamborn's nickname among his fellow players was "The Little Farmer", which does at least give some clues concerning his size and occupation.
Innovation
Lamborn seems to have been something of a sensation in his apparently short career for he was a most unorthodox bowler. He was a right arm underarmUnderarm bowling
In cricket, underarm bowling is as old as the sport itself. Until the introduction of the roundarm style in the first half of the 19th century, bowling was performed in the same way as in bowls, the ball being delivered with the hand below the waist...
spin bowler
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
with a low, flighted delivery and what has been described as a "twist from off to leg" (i.e., an off-break). The natural way for an underarm bowler to spin the ball is the leg-break (i.e., from the leg side and towards the off side of a right-handed batsman) but Lamborn seems to have invented the off-break by spinning from the off side and towards the leg side of a right-handed batsman. It is said he was "no batter" and the scorecards confirm this.
The pitched delivery
Delivery (cricket)
A delivery or ball in cricket is a single action of bowling a cricket ball towards the batsman.During play of the game, a member of the fielding team is designated as the bowler, and bowls deliveries towards the batsman...
was still new, having been introduced in the 1760s, when Lamborn played. Until the 1760s, bowlers had always rolled or skimmed the ball towards the batsman so spin bowling itself was a new skill. According to John Nyren
John Nyren
John Nyren was an English cricketer and author. Nyren made 16 known appearances in first-class cricket from 1787 to 1817...
, Lamborn was "the first I remember who introduced this deceitful and teasing style of delivering the ball".