William Yalden

William Yalden (1740 – January 1824) was an English cricketer who played in the second half of the 18th century. He is one of the earliest known players to be classed as a wicket-keeper-batsman. Yalden played mainly for Chertsey and Surrey, although he was also a regular, sometimes as captain, for England (i.e., the "rest" of England). He also played as a given man for Hampshire and Kent, He is known to have played in some minor matches, the last of which took place in 1785, and he is said to have been recruited to take part in an aborted 1789 visit to Paris to play against a French team. His best batting performance was also for Surrey against Hampshire. In September 1773 he scored 88 runs out of a total of 225, helping Surrey win by an innings and 60 runs. This innings set a new record for the highest individual score in important matches since reliable statistical records began in 1772. A right-handed batsman, Yalden's reputation has divided opinion. Nyren, a contemporary of his, said he was "not a fine, but a very useful and steady batter" and that his wicket-keeping was inferior to that of Tom Sueter whom Nyren said had to keep wicket to quicker bowlers such as Thomas Brett. Nyren went on to suggest that Yalden's "word was not always to be depended on when he had put a man out" and that he might "trick" an umpire. In a 1998 edition of Nyren's book edited by Ashley Mote, Yalden's reputation was upheld, with Mote writing that "Yalden – the England wicketkeeper and captain, no less – is dismissed in a few words". Nyren is often accused of favouring players from his own Hambledon Club rather than their opponents, such as Yalden.

Outside cricket Yalden was a licensed victualler and the landlord of the Walnut Tree inn at Chertsey, although he also worked as a cobbler and shoemaker at various points. He was born either in Chertsey or nearby Ripley around 1740 and married Sarah Green in 1770. The couple had at least one child, a son named John, born in 1776. Yalden died at Chertsey and was buried there in January 1824.

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