shot and probably invented forward play, being the first player known to leave his crease and play the drive. Beldham was in his nineties when his photograph was taken (see infobox) and he is the earliest cricketer for whom a photograph exists. His legacy has lived on and he is still widely recognised as the outstanding batsman of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1997, in an article in The Times, former Wisden editor John Woodcock named Beldham in his 100 Greatest Cricketers of All Time. Personality Beldham was described by Nyren, who knew him personally, as "a close-set, active man, standing about five feet eight inches and a half". He was called "Silver Billy" because of his light-coloured hair and fair complexion. Beldham was noted for his integrity and fair play. It was said of him that the only blot on his playing career was that he once biased a ball he bowled against Lord Frederick Beauclerk, during a single wicket match at Lords in June 1806, with a lump of mud and sawdust. It had the desired effect. During a period of the game's history when betting and match-fixing was rife, even Beldham was not immune to the lure of easy money. When interviewed by Pycroft in 1837, he said: "You may hear that I sold matches. I will confess I once was sold myself by two men, one of whom would not bowl, and the other would not bat, his best, and lost ten pounds. The next match, at Nottingham, I joined in selling, and got my money back. But for this once, I could say I never was bought in my life ; and this was not for want of offers from C and other turfmen, though often I must have been accused. For where it was worth while to buy, no man could keep a character; because to be out without runs or to miss a catch was, by the disappointed betting-men, deemed proof as strong as Holy Writ". Family and personal life Beldham retired to Tilford, where he was initially the landlord for some years of a public house, The Barley Mow, and spent his last 41 years there. He married twice. By his first wife Ann Smith (1765–1800) he had one daughter, also Ann, born (and died) 1800. His second wife, another Ann (1779–1869), bore him eight children between 1804 and