View source for William Bullen

{{short description|English cricketer (18th century)}}
{{about|the 18th century English cricketer|the Wisconsin settler|William Bullen (Kenosha pioneer)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024|cs1-dates=ly formats}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}
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{{Infobox cricketer
|               name = William Bullen
|            batting = Right-handed
|            bowling = Right-arm fast
|               role = [[All-rounder]]
|              club1 = [[Kent county cricket teams|Kent]]
|              year1 = {{nowrap|1774–1796}}
|              type1 = [[First-class cricket|FC]]
|         debutdate1 = 2 July
|         debutyear1 = 1773
|          debutfor1 = England XI
|      debutagainst1 = [[Hampshire county cricket teams|Hampshire]]
|          lastdate1 = 4 July
|          lastyear1 = 1797
|           lastfor1 = [[Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond|Charles Lennox]]'s XI
|       lastagainst1 = [[George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea|Earl of Winchilsea]]'s XI
|            columns = 1
|            column1 = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
|           matches1 = 113
|              runs1 = 1,777
|           bat avg1 = 10.21
|          100s/50s1 = 0/1
|         top score1 = 54
|        deliveries1 = –{{efn|name=bowl|In the period Bullen played, the number of balls delivered by a bowler and the runs conceded from them were generally not recorded. As a result, it is impossible to know how many balls he delivered, his best bowling figures or his bowling average. Wickets taken by bowlers were normally only recorded if they were bowled. Other means of dismissal were not credited to any bowler.<ref>Carlaw, p. 31. Retrieved 2022-04-08.</ref> As a result the number of wickets he took is uncertain, with the total of 181 being a minimum.}}
|           wickets1 = 181{{efn|name=bowl}}
|          bowl avg1 = –{{efn|name=bowl}}
|           fivefor1 = 5
|            tenfor1 = 0
|      best bowling1 = 6/?{{efn|name=bowl}}
| catches/stumpings1 = 119/–
| source             = https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/william-bullen-532859 CricInfo
| date               = 16 July
| year               = 2022
}}
'''William Bullen''' was a leading English [[cricket]]er throughout the last quarter of the 18th century, his known career spanning the years 1773 to 1800.<ref>[https://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/532859.html William Bullen], [[CricInfo]]. Retrieved 2020-08-06.</ref> He was an [[all-rounder]] who probably batted right-handed.{{efn|Bullen played for a right-handed XI in the 1790 [[Left-Handed v Right-Handed]] match.}} He played mainly for [[Kent county cricket teams|Kent sides]]{{efn|45 of Bullen's 113 first-class matches were for Kent XIs. He also appeared for the [[Gentlemen of Kent]], [[West Kent cricket team|West Kent]] and other sides associated with the county, including those organised by patrons in the county.<ref name=ca/>}} although he also appeared for England XIs{{efn|Bullen played 35 times in first-class matches for England sides.<ref name=ca/> During the period in which he played, England sides were not representative of the country. Instead, they were sides composed of players from a range of locations brought together to play against another side.<ref>Birley, p. 364.</ref>}} and a variety of other sides.<ref name=ca/>

[[Arthur Haygarth]], writing in the 1860s, describes Bullen as a "close set, strong built man" and a "crack" (i.e. expert) player, who was a "renowned batsman and bowler".<ref name=h8>Haygarth, p. 8.</ref> He was a [[fast bowling|fast bowler]], in the [[underarm bowling|underarm]] style, and a hard-hitting batsman who was a "powerful" player.<ref name=h8/> He is reputed to have "frequently bowled the sixth part of a mile (about 300 yards), or the whole length of the [[Artillery Ground]] in London".<ref name=h8/><ref>{{cite wikisource|last=Grace|first=WG|title=Cricket|page=481|wslink=Page:Cricket, by WG Grace.djvu/489}}</ref> He was possibly a native of [[Deptford]] in [[Kent]]<ref name=h8/> and is known to have played for [[Dartford Cricket Club]] as well as teams organised by landowners from the western parts of the county.<ref name=ca/>

Bullen is known to have played in 113 matches retrospectively recognised as [[first-class cricket|first-class]].<ref name=ca>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/79/79325/79325.html William Bullen], CricketArchive. Retrieved 2020-08-06. {{subscription required}}</ref> In these matches, Bullen totalled 1,777 [[run (cricket)|run]]s with a highest score of 54, his only [[century (cricket)|half-century]]. He held 119 [[caught (cricket)|catches]] and is credited with 181 [[wicket]]s.{{efn|name=bowl}} His best known performance was six wickets in an [[innings]].<ref name=ca/>

Bullen played in nearly every season from 1773 to 1800. The first match he is known to have played in was for an England XI against a [[Hampshire county cricket teams|Hampshire side]] on the Artillery Ground in July 1773. He batted in both the England innings, scoring 1 in each.<ref>Haygarth, p. 7.</ref> In July 1774, playing again for England against Hampshire at [[Sevenoaks Vine]], he took five wickets in Hampshire's first innings, the earliest recorded instance of a bowler taking [[five wickets in an innings]].<ref>Haygarth, pp. 17–18.</ref> He played for Kent sides from 1774, including matches against Maidstone teams in 1777,<ref>Waghorn, p. 48.</ref> and his final known matches were in four odds matches{{efn|An odds match is one in which one side has more players than the other, the aim being to even the chances of victory to an extent.}} for Kent sides against England teams in 1800.<ref name=ca/>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* [[Derek Birley]] (1999) ''A Social History of English Cricket''. London: Aurum Press. {{isbn|978 1 78131 1769}}
* Derek Carlaw (2020) ''Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914'' (revised edition). ([https://archive.acscricket.com/books/Kent_Cricketers_A_to_Z_Part_One_Revised_Expanded.pdf Available online] at [[The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians]]. Retrieved 2020-12-21.)
* [[Arthur Haygarth]] (1862) ''Scores & Biographies'', Vol. I (1744–1826). Lillywhite.
* [[H. T. Waghorn]] (1906) ''The Dawn of Cricket''. Electric Press.

==External links==
* {{cricinfo|id=532859}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullen, William}}
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of death unknown]]
[[Category:English cricketers]]
[[Category:English cricketers of 1701 to 1786]]
[[Category:English cricketers of 1787 to 1825]]
[[Category:Gentlemen of Kent cricketers]]
[[Category:Hampshire cricketers]]
[[Category:Kent cricketers]]
[[Category:Left-Handed v Right-Handed cricketers]]
[[Category:Non-international England cricketers]]
[[Category:Old Etonians cricketers]]
[[Category:R. Leigh's XI cricketers]]
[[Category:West Kent cricketers]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing]]