at Odiham Down on 4 August but, again, there is no report of it being played. In 1785, Farnham had a more extensive fixture list comprising matches with Alresford, a home-and-away series with Petworth – or, more accurately, Petworth, Northchapel & Tillington with six of Hambledon – which led to three matches against the Hambledon Club itself for a purse of . Farnham were outclassed in the first match at home, losing by an innings and 119 runs: the scores of the second and third games at Windmill Down have been lost, but Beldham's comments when interviewed by Pycroft some 50 years later indicate that Farnham won at least one of them, and quite possibly both for, in June 1786, Hambledon declined a challenge from Farnham. On 28 July 1786, Farnham were scheduled to play against "seven of Hambledon with four picked men from Sussex" on Northchapel Green, near Chichester. However, the result of this match has not been found. In other matches in 1786, Farnham were pitted against such varied opposition as Berkshire, Warfield (twice), a Guildford & Godalming XXII, and a Godalming XII with four of Hambledon. Given his absence from the Hambledon scorecards that year, it is possible that Beldham played in some of the Farnham matches. Hambledon/Hampshire (1785–1807) In his reminiscences to Pycroft, Beldham said that, when he was eighteen years old (i.e., in the 1784 season), he had played for Farnham against Hambledon and scored 43 facing an attack that included David Harris. He was watched by George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea who was cricket's most influential patron at the time. Next spring, Winchilsea visited Beldham at the farm where he worked and arranged with his employer, Mr Hilton, for him to have time off for playing cricket. Beldham was invited to play for Hampshire in June 1785 against England at White Conduit Fields and that was the start of his career in top-class cricket. It was also the beginning of his contract with the Hambledon Club, which continued through the latter years of the club's golden era until c.1794. In the minutes of the weekly club meeting of 26 July 1785, it was "order'd that John & James Wells, Wm. and George Beldham be considered as Players belonging to this Club and be paid their Expences when they come to play at the discretion of the stewards". He and his brother George and