Gloucestershire County Cricket Club League in 2000. Cricket probably reached Gloucestershire by the end of the 17th century. It is known that the related sport of "Stow-Ball" "aka" "Stob-Ball" was played in the county during the 16th century. In this game, the bat was called a "stave". See Alice B Gomme : "The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland". A game in Gloucester on 22 September 1729 is the earliest definite reference to cricket in the county. From then until the founding of the county club, very little has been found outside parish cricket. In the early 1840s, Dr Henry Grace and his
William Clarke's All-England Eleven which became strongly associated with WG Grace. Clarke, as well as being the manager, was the captain of the AEE team until his death in 1856. He was succeeded by his Nottinghamshire colleague George Parr who agreed that the AEE and UEE should regularly play against each other, something that Clarke would not allow. In 1859, the first England national cricket team was formed as a composite of the AEE and the UEE to tour North America. With the rise of county cricket and the introduction of international cricket, the travelling elevens lost influence and popularity. The AEE gradually faded