William Yalden

William Yalden (1740 – January 1824) was an English cricketer who played towards the end of the 18th century and is considered to be one of the earliest known players who were classed as a wicket-keeper-batsman. Yalden played mainly for Chertsey and Surrey sides, although he was also a regular, sometimes as captain, in England teams, particularly in matches against Hampshire. His career began in the 1760s and he is known to have played until 1785.

Cricket career
Between 1772 and 1783, Yalden made 44 known appearances in matches now classified as first-class. He is known to have played in other matches which do not have first-class status, the last which took place in 1785, and was recruited to take part in an aborted 1789 visit to Paris to play against a French side.

While fielding records are incomplete during Yalden's career, he is credited with 64 catches and one stumping in first-class matches. His only known first-class stumping was in a match between a Surrey XI and a Hampshire side in October 1778, the victim being Henry Bonham. This is one of the earliest known stumpings and the first known to have taken place during a first-class match. 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 first-class matches since reliable statistical records began in 1772. A right-handed batsman, he scored a total of 1,151 runs in first-class matches, including three half-centuries.

According to Arthur Haygarth, Yalden gave up cricket for one season because he thought his eyesight was failing, but he was persuaded to return to the game by the Earl of Tankerville; he resumed his career with continued success.

Described by John Nyren in The Cricketers of My Time as a "a thin, dark-looking man", Yalden's reputation has divided opinion. Nyren, a contemporary of his, considered him to be "not a fine, but a very useful and steady batter" and that his wicket-keeping was inferior to that of Tom Sueter whom Nyren considered to have 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 reconsidered with Mote writing that "Yalden – the England wicketkeeper and captain, no less – is dismissed in a few words". Nyren is often considered as 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 a member of the local cricket club and managed the nearby Laleham Burway ground. He was born either in Chertsey or nearby Ripley in 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.