Richard Leigh (cricket patron)

Richard Leigh (dates unknown) was an 18th-century English businessman and cricket patron. He organised his own team, usually known as R. Leigh's XI, which played in nine top-class matches from 1793 to 1795. Leigh resided at Wilmington, near Dartford. In 1793, he was elected as a member of the Hambledon Club. He was an early member of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

All the matches played by Leigh's XI were against other scratch teams organised by rival patrons. These were the Earl of Winchilsea (three matches); Sir Horace Mann (two); E. G. Morant (two); George Louch (one); and Richard Newman (one). Leigh's XI won four and lost five of their matches. Their biggest win was by an innings and 98 runs against Mann's XI, at Dandelion Paddock in September 1795; their biggest defeat was by 113 runs to Winchilsea's XI, at Windmill Down in July 1795. Cricketers who played for Leigh's XI included Billy Beldham, Thomas Boxall, William Bullen, William Fennex, John Hammond, David Harris, Joey Ring, and John Wells.

Leigh was such a prominent match organiser in the 1790s that the Duchess of Gordon reportedly said to him: "Though I am the first, you are the second match-maker in England, Mr Leigh". Although Leigh was famous as a patron, it is not known if he ever played cricket. His son, also called Richard, played for MCC, Surrey, and Kent in the 1800s, but without any success.

Bibliography

• ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863. Nottingham: ACS.
• Ashley-Cooper, F. S. (1924). Hambledon Cricket Chronicle 1772–1796. Jenkins. ASIN B0008BXCH4.

Further reading

• Britcher, Samuel (1790). A list of all the principal Matches of Cricket that have been played (1790 to 1805). MCC.
• Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite.