their brothers-in-law, John and James Wells travelled 27 miles each way between Farnham and Hambledon, usually on the day of the match. Saddle-soreness made them consider building a cart for their journeys but the government introduced a tax on vehicles and they abandoned the idea. Beldham recalled that he was paid five guineas a game in the 1780s if his team won and three guineas if they lost, plus two guineas for Tuesday's practise. Twenty years later the figures were six and four. This was a pittance compared with the money that the gentry could make from their wagers (e.g., Lord Frederick Beauclerk remarked that he made some £630 a year from cricket), but it was a good income compared with those of artisans and labourers: at the time the weekly wage of a farm labourer was something like seven shillings and sixpence. Thus, to take the 1788 season as an example, Beldham played in 10 known matches, his side winning six of them, for which he was paid 42 guineas (£44.2s.0d), equating to slightly over two and a quarter years' wages for a farm worker. There is no other mention in surviving sources of the June 1785 match between England and Hampshire; Beldham does not confirm that it was actually played, only planned. He may have played for Farnham in 1785 and 1786, or in Hambledon matches without surviving reports. There are several mentions of him in 1787, when he was 21, and his top-class career was certainly underway by the end of that season, which is best remembered for the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) following the opening of the original Lord's ground. The first Hambledon match in which Beldham is definitely recorded was not until 7–10 August 1787 when he played against Kent at the Star Inn Ground on Coxheath Common. In his summary, Haygarth said another account had called the match "Kent v England". Haygarth used Hambledon in his title because, as he said, all eleven players were "members of the Hambledon Club". Kent batted first and were all out for 140. Hambledon replied with 256 and Beldham, although he was number 10 in the order, made the second-highest score with 42 before he was again bowled by Clifford. Kent were all out for 194 in their second innings and Beldham held three catches. Hambledon finished the match with 79/8 to win by 2 wickets,