The term All England Eleven has been used in cricket since 1739. The first recorded instances were two matches played in July that year when Kent challenged "eleven picked out of all England". Kent won one match and the other was drawn. For the insect, see Cricket (insect). ... Events January 1 - Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier. ...

An "all England" eleven in common parlance would exclude an England eleven picked to play in an international match. Although it is a misconception, in practical terms it means a team representing the "rest" of England picked to play against, say, one county team or club team.

Having been just a piece of loosely applied terminology for over 100 years, the All England Eleven became fact in 1845 when William Clarke formed his team of mercenaries that would tour the country under that name (abbreviated to AEE) and take on allcomers. Later, there would be rival elevens called the United All England Eleven (UEE) and suchlike names. 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...