Episode 1 of 2

Wisden Adopts 1815 as Statistical Start

When: 1815
Where: England
Part of: Wisden retrospectively recognises first-class cricket statistics from 1815

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack agreed with Bill Frindall by commencing its first-class records in 1815, establishing a specific statistical boundary.

Wisden agreed with Frindall by commencing its first-class records in 1815. This decision was based on Frindall's belief that 1815 should be the statistical startpoint to encompass the entire roundarm bowling phase of cricket's history, although roundarm did not begin in earnest until 1827.

Sources

First-class cricket Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-19

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.