You mention betting or wagering on cricket in the 18th century was extensive. It led to the following distinction.

The social distinctions that exist in cricket trace their origins to the way in which the game developed in the 18th Century. Originally, what you might call exhibition cricket was organized by wealthy individuals who staged games at which significant wagering took place. The participants at the time were initially all gentlemen who were not paid to play. In order to make their teams more competitive, the organizers brought in what we, in America, would call 'ringers' or effectively, professionals.

To increase their chances of winning both on the field and in the wagering, this inclusion of 'players', as they were called, of course distorted the odds and made it more difficult for the bookmakers to accurately set odds. As a result, an agreement was made that the programmes printed for the matches would distinguish between 'gentlemen' and 'players' with 'gentlemen' being listed by their surname following their initials, such as WG Grace and players being listed by their surname followed by their Christian name - for example: ‘Smith, William’.