The West of England appeared in nine first-class

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...

 matches between 1844

1844 English cricket season

The 1844 English cricket season saw William Hillyer lead the bowling for the third time in succession-First-class matches:-Events:13 March. Foundation of Cambridgeshire CCC which played first-class cricket 1857 to 1871.28 August...

 and 1948

1948 English cricket season

The 1948 English cricket season marked the final appearance in England of Don Bradman, who was shortly to retire. Bradman's team, which included Arthur Morris, a very young Neil Harvey, Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller, went through the tour without being beaten and became known to cricket's folklore...

. Their first-class debut in 1844 came against the 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...

, with their final appearance in first-class cricket coming against the East

East of England cricket team

The East of England appeared in 5 first-class matches between 1892 and 1948. Their first-class debut in 1892 came against the West in the inagural East v West fixture which was held at the United Services Recreation Ground in Portsmouth on 6, 7 and 8 September. Their final appearance in...

 in 1948. They played their nine first-class appearances against the Marylebone Cricket Club four times, the East four times and the touring New Zealanders once in 1927.

The inaugural West v East fixture was held at the United Services Recreation Ground

United Services Recreation Ground

The United Services Recreation Ground is a cricket ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire. The first recorded match on the ground was on 17 August 1882 which saw Cambridge University Past and Present play the touring Australians...

 in Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

on 6, 7 and 8 September 1892.