Ashley-Cooper commented: "Perhaps of all the players who appeared for Hambledon ("sic") only William Beldham surpassed him in excellence as an all-round performer – apart, that is, from captaincy". Nyren was widely considered to be the expert in all cricketing matters and at Hambledon he was "the chosen general of all the matches, ordering and directing the whole". He was "uniformly consulted on all questions of (cricket) law or precedent" and his decision was always accepted. A significant example of this level of influence occurred in 1771, as described above, following the "big bat" controversy when Nyren, Brett and Small effectively changed the Laws of Cricket by setting the maximum bat width.