of 112. Gentlemen v Players (1806–1821) In 1806, Beldham had the unusual record of playing for both the Gentlemen and the Players in the inaugural and second Gentlemen v Players matches. He and William Lambert played as given men for the Gentlemen in the first match at the original Lord's ground on 7–9 July 1806. Beldham scored 16, held three catches and bowled William Fennex. Lambert made the top score of the match with 57. The Players were dismissed for 69 and 112, the Gentlemen scored 195 to win by an innings and 14 runs. For the second match on 21 and 25 July (there was an unscheduled break), Beldham was in the Players team but the Gentlemen retained Lambert. Beldham contributed little, scoring 0 and 1; also, he is not known to have been involved in any dismissals. The Gentlemen scored 96 and 132, the Players 65 and 81. The Gentlemen won by 82 runs. Beldham made three further appearances in the fixture after it was resurrected in 1819, when he was 53 years old. In 1819, on the present Lord's ground, the Players recorded their first victory over the Gentlemen. Beldham scored 15 in the first innings as the Players made 199 to gain a first innings lead of one run. The Gentlemen were all out for 60 in their second innings and the Players replied with 60/4 to win by 6 wickets. Beldham did not bat. Fast medium bowler Thomas Howard had an outstanding match for the Players, being involved in at least nine dismissals including eight bowled. In 1820, Howard was again the matchwinner but this time as a given man for the Gentlemen. He was involved in nine dismissals as they won by 70 runs. Beldham scored 16 and 2. Other teams and matches There were no organised competitions in the 18th century and all matches were arranged on a more or less ad hoc basis, so prolific players like Beldham appeared for a wide variety of teams. As described above, Beldham was mainly associated with Hambledon and Surrey while he was frequently invited to represent MCC and England teams. Among other teams he played for were counties like Berkshire, Kent (eight times) and Middlesex, always as a given man. MCC at the time was in some respects a town club and Beldham played in matches for other local clubs such as Godalming and Homerton.