United North of England Eleven - Other Matches

Other Matches

The team played 15 other matches in its first season, 1870, mostly in the north. The majority were minor matches played against odds while the last of the season, against Richard Daft's XI at Holbeck was a first-class match. The UNEE team was:

• Roger Iddison (captain), George Freeman, Ephraim Lockwood, George Pinder (wicket-keeper), John Smith, Thomas Bignall, George Atkinson, Joseph Rowbotham, Elisha Rawlinson, Luke Greenwood, George Howitt.

In 1871, the UNEE played seven matches, followed by seven in 1872; seven in 1873; two in 1874 and then just one match in 1875, although this one was a first-class fixture against Derbyshire at Saltergate in Chesterfield. The UNEE defeated Derbyshire by 90 runs with an all-Yorkshire team:

• Joseph Rowbotham (captain), John Thewlis senior, Charles Ullathorne, George Pinder (wicket-keeper), Ephraim Lockwood, Luke Greenwood, George Ulyett, Tom Emmett, Andrew Greenwood, Tom Armitage, Allen Hill.

With interest fading, the team struggled on and played one odds match at Saltaire in 1876. There were no matches at all in 1877 and then something of a revival in 1878 when they played eight, followed by nine in 1879. The last of the UNEE's first-class matches was played in June 1879 against a London United Eleven at Birmingham. The UNEE team in this match was very strong:

• George Pinder (captain; wicket-keeper), George Ulyett, Ephraim Lockwood, William Oscroft, John Selby, Arthur Shrewsbury, Billy Bates, Tom Emmett, Andrew Greenwood, Tom Armitage, Allen Hill.

They easily defeated their weaker opponents by 160 runs, but public interest was on the wane as county and, after the 1878 Australian team had toured England, international cricket were greater attractions. The UNEE continued to play odds matches for another two seasons only. There were just two in 1880 and one in 1881, which was the UNEE's final recorded match at Skipton in June.