John Nyren

John Nyren(15 December 1764 – 30 June 1837) was an Englishcricketerandauthor.Nyren made 16 known appearances infirst-class cricketfrom 1787 to 1817. He achieved lasting fame as the author ofThe Cricketers of My Time,which was first published in 1832 as a serial in a periodical calledThe Townand was then included inThe Young Cricketer's Tutor,published in 1833 by Effingham Wilson of London. Nyren's collaborator in the work wasCharles Cowden Clarke.

Family and background

Nyren was the son ofRichard Nyren,the captain of theHambledon Clubin its "glory days". He was brought up in theBat and Ball Inn,where his father was the landlord, immediately oppositeBroadhalfpenny Down,about a mile fromHambledonvillage where he was born.

Cricket career

Nyren, who was a left-handedbatsmanand left-handed fieldsman, played for the Hambledon Club from 1778 until 1791.He was described as "standing nearly 6 ft, of large proportions throughout, big-boned, strong and active".He is first recorded in first-class cricket in 1787, around the time his father retired from the game, and he played occasionally until 1817. He played for the Gentlemen in the inaugural and secondGentlemen v Playersmatches in 1806.Although he was a fine fieldsman,his playing career was not distinguished and he would now be remembered only as the son of a famous father if he had not turned his hand to literature in his old age.

Writing career

In 1832, Nyren was living in London when he began his collaboration with Cowden Clarke, who recorded Nyren's reminiscences of the Hambledon era and published them serially inThe TownasThe Cricketers of My Time.The following year, the series with some modifications appeared as part of an instructional book entitledThe Young Cricketer's Tutor.It became a major source for the history and personalities of Georgian cricket and also came to be regarded as the first classic in cricket's now rich literary history.

Personal life

As well as being a devotee of cricket, Nyren was a talented musician who played the violin and composed music. Some of his compositions were published byVincent Novello,who was a close friend. For 13 years Nyren was the choir master at St Mary's,Moorfields,where Novello was the organist.

Nyren married Cleopha Copp, aged 17, in 1791. They had two sons and five daughters, as well as two children who died in infancy.They lived first inPortsea,then in 1796 they moved toBromleyinKent,and later lived inBattersea,London, thenCheyne Walk,Chelsea,and finally moved back to Bromley to live inBromley Palace,where Nyren died.

Bibliography

• H S Altham,A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914),George Allen & Unwin, 1962
• Ashley Mote:The Glory Days of Cricket,Robson, 1997
• John Nyren,The Cricketers of my Time(ed.Ashley Mote), Robson, 1998

External links

• John NyrenatESPNcricinfo
• The Hambledon Men,including Nyren'sThe Young Cricketer's TutorandThe Cricketers of My Time,digitised atInternet Archive