At the invitation of the Nottinghamshire Committee, this little book has been prepared in commemoration of the centenary of the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, the first match on which was played on May 28, 1838.

It was an honour to be asked to edit it, and it has been a pleasure to fulfil the task; but I should like to say that I could not have done so but for assistance from Sir Julien Cahn, from Mr. A. W. She1ton, from Mr. Douglas McCraith, from Mr. J. H. Burrow, and from many books, chief of which I should put 'Nottinghamshire Cricket and Cricketers' by F. S. Ashley-Cooper and 'Kings of Cricket' by Richard Daft. Other works of reference which have been useful to me are Lillywhite's 'Scores and Biographies', the 'History of Cricket' by H. S. Altham, 'The Cricket Field' and 'Cricketana' by the Rev. James Pycroft, Daft's 'Cricketer's Yarns', 'Old English Cricketers' by "Old Ebor", 'Chats on the Cricket Field' by W. A. Bettesworth, Caffyn's 'Seventy-One Not-Out', and 'The Hambledon Men'.

I am indebted to Sir William Nicholson for the frontispiece-illustration of a jug in his possession, with representations on it of Old Clarke, with the ball, Fuller Pilch batting, and T. Box behind the stumps. It is peculiarly appropriate that Sir William Nicholson should contribute to this book, for he was born in Newark, the son of William Newzam Nicholson, M.P. for Newark, was educated at Newark and, he tells me, the first portrait he painted was one of Dean Hole.

E.V.L. - May, 1938