Aislabie, who is immortalised in Tom Brown's Schooldays, was one of the great characters of cricket. He became honorary secretary of the M.C.C. in 1822, and never was a club secretary more popular. He was an enormous man, who was only around 5ft 6ins in height, but weighed nearly twenty stone; when batting he always had a runner, who however seldom had much to do. Aislabie radiated charm and good humour, was the author of a number of cricket songs, and used to sing them at club dinners. He seldom made a run, never bowled, and was much too baulky to be of any use in the field; but he was so devoted to the game that he played whenever he got the chance, and went on playing until he was sixty-seven. His achievements were summed up in some contemporary verses, in which affection shines clearly through the ridicule:
'Tis Aislabie's boast to form most of the matches,
In this way at cricket; he makes but few catches,
But still he's contented some money to pay,
For the sake of encouraging excellent play.
He doats on the game, has played many a year,
Weighs at least seventeen stones, on his pins rather queer;
But still he takes the bat, and there's no better fun
Than to see him when batting attempting to run.
