In the summer of 1775, at the height of his powers, the finest bowler in England was cheated by geometry. Edward "Lumpy" Stevens, a Surrey gardener turned cricketing legend, so accurate he was said to be able to land the ball on a chosen leaf, sent down three deliveries that passed clean through the wicket. Not over it. Not around it. Through it. Between the two stumps that made up a wicket in those days, under the single bail laid across the top, and out the other side, with

A recently unearthed manuscript from the National Archive has sparked a re-evaluation of cricket's origins. The document, dating back to...