John Pontifex (cricketer, born 1771)
English cricketer (1771–1841)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Pontifex (1 July 1771 – 1 September 1841) was an English amateur cricketer who made 19 appearances in historically important matches from 1796 to 1810.[note 1] He was a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC),[2] and played for the Gentlemen in the first two Gentlemen v Players matches in 1806.[3][4]
Matches
Pontifex played in all of these nineteen games, as confirmed by the book source cited on each line. Fifteen were played at Lord's Old Ground, and the other four as shown at other venues.
The matches are historically important, and are listed as such in the ACS Important Matches guide:[5]
| date | match details |
|---|---|
| 12 August 1796 | Thursday Club v Montpelier & Kennington Clubs[6] |
| 26 August 1796 | Montpelier and Kennington Clubs v Thursday Club at Aram's New Ground[7] |
| 12 June 1797 | Montpelier v Marylebone Cricket Club at Aram's New Ground[8] |
| 26 June 1797 | Marylebone Cricket Club v Montpelier[9] |
| 28 May 1798 | Marylebone Cricket Club v Montpelier[10] |
| 27 June 1799 | Brentford & Richmond v Montpelier at Richmond Green[11] |
| 26 August 1803 | H. C. Woolridge's XI v W. R. Capel's XI at Clifford's Park, Rickmansworth[12] |
| 18 June 1804 | Marylebone Cricket Club v England[13] |
| 2 July 1804 | Marylebone Cricket Club v England[14] |
| 7 July 1806 | Gentlemen v Players[15] |
| 21 July 1806 | Gentlemen v Players[16] |
| 18 May 1807 | Marylebone Cricket Club v Middlesex[17] |
| 25 May 1807 | England v Hampshire[17] |
| 23 May 1808 | Marylebone Cricket Club v Middlesex[18] |
| 30 May 1808 | Marylebone Cricket Club v Middlesex[19] |
| 1 June 1809 | Marylebone Cricket Club v England[20] |
| 17 July 1809 | England v 'Four First Chosen with Seven Others'[21] |
| 20 Sept 1809 | Lord F. Beauclerk's XI v F. C. Ladbroke's XI[22] |
| 29 May 1810 | Lord F. Beauclerk's XI v E. Bligh's XI[23] |
Notes
- Any match listed in the ACS' Important Match Guide (1981) is historically important, and therefore of the highest standard, whether or not a scorecard might exist. The same applies to numerous matches discovered by researchers since 1981.[1] For further information, see First-class cricket.
