Editing First-class cricket (section)

===Earlier startpoints suggested===
Subsequently, Webber's view was challenged by [[Bill Frindall]] who believed that 1815 should be the startpoint to encompass the entire [[roundarm bowling]] phase of cricket's history,{{sfn|Frindall|1998|p=1}} although roundarm did not begin in earnest until 1827.{{sfn|Altham|1962|pp=61–62}} In Frindall's view, the inaugural first-class match should have been the opening game of the 1815 season between MCC and [[Middlesex county cricket teams|Middlesex]] at Lord's on 31 May and 1 June, Middlesex winning by 16 runs.<ref name="CA356">{{cite web |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/0/356.html |title=Marylebone Cricket Club v Middlesex, 31 May – 1 June 1815 |work=CricketArchive |access-date=17 September 2022 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=5 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705130500/https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/0/356.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Notwithstanding Frindall's reputation, Webber's view has been revived and reinforced in recent times. For example, the Kent researcher Derek Carlaw began his study of Kent cricketers since 1806 by stating: "Part One is confined to players who appeared for Kent in important matches from 1806 to 1863 and first-class matches from 1864 to 1914".{{sfn|Carlaw|Winnifrith|2020|p=2}}

On the internet, the ''CricketArchive'' (CA) and ''[[ESPN Cricinfo]]'' (CI) databases both say the earliest first-class match was [[Hampshire county cricket teams|Hampshire]] v [[Non-international England cricket teams|England]] at [[Broadhalfpenny Down]] on 24 and 25 June 1772.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/0/4.html |title=Hampshire v England, 24–25 June 1772 |work=CricketArchive |access-date=17 September 2022 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926192653/https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/0/4.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1770S/1772/ENG_LOCAL/HANTS-XI_ENG_24-25JUN1772.html |work=ESPNcricinfo |title=Hampshire v England, 24–25 June 1772 |access-date=9 February 2015 |archive-date=9 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209125355/http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1770S/1772/ENG_LOCAL/HANTS-XI_ENG_24-25JUN1772.html |url-status=live }}</ref> At that time, cricket matches were played with a two-stump [[wicket]] and exclusively [[underarm bowling]], although other features of the modern game had been introduced.{{sfn|Haygarth|1996|p=99}} The opinion of these databases has been repudiated by both ''Wisden'' and ''[[Playfair Cricket Annual]]''. ''Wisden'' agrees with Frindall by commencing its first-class records in 1815.{{sfn|Wisden|2019|pp=1215–1242}} ''Playfair'' supports Webber and begins its records in 1864.{{sfn|Playfair|2018|pp=159, 173, 180}}

The status of earlier matches, including many in the ACS' ''Important Matches'' guide, which have left no scorecard and for which only a brief announcement or report exists, must be based on other factors. Contemporary importance was often measured by the amount of money at stake and the fact that a match was deemed notable enough to be reported in the press. The 18th century matches in the ACS list were primarily compiled to assist historians.{{sfn|ACS|1981|p=4}} The earliest match known to have been accorded superior status in a contemporary report (i.e., termed "a great match" in this case) and to have been played for a large sum of money was one in [[Sussex]] between two unnamed eleven-a-side teams contesting "fifty [[guinea (British coin)|guineas]] apiece" in June 1697, a match of enormous historical significance but with no statistical data recorded.{{sfn|McCann|2004|p=xli}}