Julius Caesar (cricketer) - Joining The All-England Eleven

Joining The All-England Eleven

The last first-class game Caesar played in 1850 was against the All-England Eleven, and he scored 18 as Fourteen of Surrey secured a draw. His first such game in 1851 was also against the All-England Eleven. It was another draw, but Caesar impressed, top-scoring with 38. I July, Surrey played Nottinghamshire for the first time. Nottinghamshire were led by Clarke, and included the great George Parr, and Surrey won comfortably by 75 runs. However, Caesar himself was out without scoring in both innings, and he became extremely dejected. This fear that failure in one match would lead to his summary dismissal stayed with him throughout his cricketing life. However, he recovered, and at the beginning of August scored his maiden half-century for Surrey, against Yorkshire at the Oval.

It was then that he joined the All-England Eleven, playing his first game for them at Newark-on-Trent. This meant Caesar would now tour the country, playing cricket, and receiving somewhere between £4 and £6 from Clarke, from which he would also have to pay his expenses. Caesar's form dropped, which would have made him more anxious about his place, and he got up to some strange antics at hotels. He became irrationally nervous fearing that someone may have died in his bed, or that the hotel would burn down. One time, after yells from a drunkard outside, Caesar convinced himself that there was a fire and rang the alarm bell, causing minor panic amongst the other guests.

1852 saw a split, with many cricketers in the All-England Eleven leaving to form a rival United England XI under John Wisden. The split was most likely because of William Clarke's parsimony and unwillingness to increase the wages he paid his players. Caesar, the youngest of Clarke's professionals, chose to remain with the All-England Eleven. In June, the All-England Eleven played Sixteen of Godalming and District over three days. However, this time Caesar played for Godalming, with the match being partially for Caesar's benefit. Four other Caesars also turned out for Godalming.

Although Caesar was always nervous of failure, he appears to have been highly regarded by other players. He often opened the innings. Richard Daft, a fellow All-Englander, wrote that "his hitting was as smart and clean as anything that could be witnessed".