Wisden 1890 Law 14 The bowler shall be allowed to change ends as often as he pleases, provided only that he does not bowl two overs consecutively in one innings.
MCC The Laws of Cricket 2020 Law 17.6 A bowler shall be allowed to change ends as often as desired, provided he/she does not bowl two overs consecutively, nor bowl parts of each of two consecutive overs, in the same innings.
So, except for the addition of the word 'she' and a bit of elaboration the law has remained the same for 130 years apart from slipping down the batting order but had I been able to access Wisden for 1886 Law 14 would have read 'The bowler may not change ends more than twice in the same innings, nor bowl more than two overs in succession'. And the change in the first part of the law stems from an incident in 1886 involving a cricketer who until yesterday I had never heard of but about whom I have discovered more in the last twenty four hours, namely this handsome fellow Mr Sidney Austyn Paul Kitcat.
Kitcat was born in 1868 the seventh child and third son of the Reverend David Kitcat, Rector of Westonbirt near Tetbury. He was educated at Marlborough College where in his second season when skipper of the eleven he was involved in ' Endgate'. In a match at Lord's against Rugby School, Marlborough, with Kitcat well set were pressing for victory when the opposing captain CW Bengough went on to bowl a second spell from the pavilion end, having already bowled two spells from the opposite end and in his first over from the 'wrong end' Kitcat was caught at cover. After much discussion the umpires decided that he had been 'fairly caught' and was therefore out. Appeal was made to the Secretary of MCC, who presumably was present, and he ruled that Sidney was out but added the somewhat strange rider that Bengough should not bowl again in the innings which goes against the umpires being the sole arbiters. It took until 1889 for the MCC to change the law to its present position and at the same meeting the number of balls per over was increased from four to five. Oh yes, Rugby won the match by 37 runs.
Following his death in 1942 Kitcat is given a two paragraph obituary in the following year's Wisden, much of it devoted to the incident that resulted in the change to Law 14 but that should not conceal that he was a talented cricketer who had he felt able to devote more time to the county game might have been better known. His initial experience of first class cricket came in 1890 when he represented MCC at Lord's against Oxford University and having been 'spotted by WG grace he joined Gloucestershire and made his debut in championship cricket in 1892 at Bristol against Kent when having scored 46 in the first innings he was moved up the order to open and made his maiden fifty. He played seven matches that season finishing a respectable third in the county's averages and Wisden commented that 'Though taking up at the wickets a somewhat cramped and inelegant position Mr Kitcat watches the ball very closely and has plenty of nerve and power'.
Kitcat continued to make spasmodic appearances for his native county until his last match which was at The Oval in 1904. In representative terms the highlight is his appearance for the Gentlemen in 1897, a match that was won comfortably by the Players and in which Sidney performed without distinction. His highest score came at Lord's in 1897 when he was left stranded on 95 not out in Gloucestershire's first innings. A last wicket stand of 35 with FG Roberts brought him close to what would have been his only century before Roberts was dismissed for 2. A year earlier he had featured in memorable match with Sussex at Bristol when batting first Glos were all out for 551 and Kitcat featured in a stand of 193 for the ninth wicket with WG, who made 301 before being dismissed. Sidney was left 77 not out when Roberts was again dismissed for 2. The stand remains a record for the Gloucestershire 9th wicket.
Kitcat showed talent in other sports, he played hockey for England and Rugby for Marlborough Nomads one of the original twenty one founding members of the Rugby Football Union. He married a widow Mabel Murray Hickson, a writer of short stories. Her most famous story Concerning Teddy is still available.
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