Thomas Boxall

Thomas Boxall (dates unknown) was a noted English cricketer who played during the late 18th century. He was "one of the finest professional cricketers" of his day.^[1]

Boxall was a noted bowler and is believed to be the first player to have bowled leg breaks.^[2] Bowling underarm, he took more than 300 wickets^[a] in 89 important matches,^[b] playing between 1789 and 1803.^[4] As a professional he played for a wide variety of teams, most frequently appearing for England (i.e., the "rest" of England) and Kent. He also played as a given man for both Brighton and Middlesex.^[4] According to Scores and Biographies, Boxall was around 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall, strong and muscular and may have been born at Ripley, Surrey.^[6] He was employed by Stephen Amherst, who organised Kent matches, at his estate in Kent. Amherst constructed an indoor practice area in a converted barn so that Boxall could bowl during the winter.^[2]

In 1790, Boxall published one of the earliest cricket instructional books, The Cricket Guide.^[7] In 1801, towards the end of his playing career, he published Rules and Instructions for Playing at the Game of Cricket.^[8][9] Early editions of the book are "extremely scarce"^[10] and are prized by collectors of early cricket literature. The book, which was printed in London by E Billing and was pocket sized, has been described as "perhaps the most rare and coveted" example of early cricket literature, and "the rarest of all cricket items".^[11] A copy of the second edition of the book, thought to have been printed in 1802, sold at auction for £2,600 in 2010.^[12]