1. Frederick William Lillywhite was an English first-class cricketer during the game's roundarm era.
23 Facts About William Lillywhite
1. 2.
William Lillywhite's status is borne out by his nickname: The Nonpareil.
3.
William Lillywhite was an original member of William Clarke's All-England Eleven.
4.
William Lillywhite married Charlotte Parker at Westhampnett, Sussex on 15 July 1822.
5.
William Lillywhite is recorded later that year as moving to Brighton where he appeared for a local cricket club for two years.
6.
William Lillywhite's chance came in part due to a desire to test the emerging roundarm bowling style against established players, and his first matches were the so-called Roundarm trial matches, in which he was permitted to bowl roundarm.
7.
Batting first, William Lillywhite made 41 to complement the 70 made by opener George Brown and career-best 85 by Charles Pierpoint.
8.
William Lillywhite then took two wickets in his first outing with the ball, and a third in Kent's second innings as Kent were dismissed for 40 and 43, losing by 243 runs.
9.
William Lillywhite made two more appearances for his county that season, and finished the year with thirteen wickets.
10.
William Lillywhite made four more appearances in 1826, while continuing to play West Sussex against East Sussex matches in Brighton and Petworth.
11.
William Lillywhite thus established himself in the county side, and was rewarded with twelve matches in 1832 in which he took seventy-one wickets.
12.
William Lillywhite was invited to play for the Marylebone Cricket Club from 1830 onwards, for whom he would go on to take over 400 wickets.
13.
William Lillywhite continued to occupy his time with further appearances at West Sussex v East Sussex games.
14.
William Lillywhite took thirty-eight wickets in 1834 and forty-two more in 1835.
15.
William Lillywhite's success was now leading to further controversy of the status of roundarm bowling, and he was becoming well known throughout the country.
16.
William Lillywhite played only ten first-class matches, two fewer than in 1832, however he took ninety-nine wickets.
17.
William Lillywhite's prowess resulted in an increasing number of offers to play for invitational elevens.
18.
William Lillywhite took 42 more wickets in 1838, before reaping great rewards in 1839 and 1840 with 78 and 83 wickets respectively.
19.
William Lillywhite took over one-hundred wickets for three consecutive seasons between 1842 and 1844, and after taking eighty-four in 1845 he returned with 102 the following year.
20.
William Lillywhite took sixty-five wickets in total in 1847, seventy-two in 1848 and sixty-seven more in 1849.
21.
William Lillywhite was replaced by a substitute cricketer and did not play first-class cricket again.
22.
William Lillywhite died in Islington, only a year after his benefit match, in August 1854, and was buried on the western side of Highgate Cemetery.
23.
William Lillywhite's grave is listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England.