1730 English cricket season

1730 English cricket season

1730 was the 34th English cricket season since the earliest known important match was played. Details have survived of fourteen important matches and four notable single wicket matches.

The most noticeable aspect of the season is that it had the largest number of matches recorded to date, with much more coverage in the newspapers than in any previous season. The most significant aspect of the time, however, was the growing importance of the sport in metropolitan London and its surrounding areas. The Artillery Ground entered the historical record for the first time and it is clear that London Cricket Club was establishing predominance over its rivals, which were all representative of counties with teams called Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex all active.

Important matches

The following matches are classified as important:[fc 1]

date match title venue result source
12 June (F) 2nd Duke of Richmond's XI v Sir William Gage's XI Bury Hill, Arundel result unknown [1]
notes

In a letter written by one Henry Forster two days earlier, he says: "Ye say in Chichester his grace (sic; i.e., Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond) is to play a cricket mach (sic) friday with Sr Willm Gaige (sic) on Bery (sic) Hill". No other details have been found and there is no certainty that the match was ever played.

2 July (Th) London v Kent Gray's Inn Lane, London Kent won [2][3][4][5][6]
notes

The precise location was "a field near the lower end of Gray's Inn Lane, London". The original source reports "a cricket-match between the Kentish men and the Londoners for £50, and won by the former".

2–4 July (Th–Sa) Surrey v Middlesex Richmond Green Surrey won [3][4][5][6]
notes

Waghorn's original source was imprecise about the date and he simply recorded it in his Cricket Scores as "June" but subsequent research revealed that the match was played in early July.

9 July (Th) Surrey v Sussex Merrow Down, Guildford Surrey won [3][4][7][5][6]
notes

One contemporary source (Waghorn) refers to the teams in terms of their respective patrons: Mr Andrews of Sunbury-on-Thames for Surrey; the 2nd Duke of Richmond for Sussex. Kent patron Edwin Stead was among the spectators.

23 July (Th) Epsom v Sunbury Epsom Down result unknown [7][8]
notes

No further information known. Sunbury (in Middlesex) was a noted club at the time.

31 July (F) Greenwich v London Blackheath result unknown [7][6]
notes

The match scheduled to be played at Blackheath on 31 July was to be for a prize of 20 guineas.

5 August (W) 2nd Duke of Richmond's XI v Sir William Gage's XI The Dripping Pan, Lewes result unknown [3][4][9][6]
notes

The announcement states that the match "was put off on account of (Thomas) Waymark, the Duke’s man, being ill". It is not clear if it was cancelled or postponed. A prize of 100 guineas was at stake.

5 August (W) Kent v London Blackheath drawn? [7][6]
notes

The report says the "Kentish champions would have lost their honours by being beat at one innings if time had permitted". A repeat was scheduled for 12 August at Islington. It is not clear if "Kentish champions" meant that Kent had claims to being the champion county.

10 August (M) Middlesex v Surrey Artillery Ground Middlesex won [10]
notes

This game is the earliest definite match at the Artillery Ground in Finsbury between Chiswell Street and Bunhill Fields. It was referred to in contemporary reports as the "old Artillery Ground", but that may be because it was used frequently for other forms of sport or entertainment. It came to be the featured venue for London cricket until about 1765, after which the game's focus shifted to Hambledon and the London Club disbanded.

12 & 18 August (W/Tu) London v Kent 1. Frog Lane, Islington
2. Kennington Common		 result unknown [11][6]
notes

The match started at a place known only as "Frog Lane" in Islington on 12 August "but being obliged by their articles to leave off at seven o’clock, they could not finish it". London had a lead of 30 when play ended that day but no report has survived of the resumption at Kennington Common on 18 August.

17 August (M) London v Surrey Kennington Common London won by 1 run [11][6]
notes

London's single run victory over Surrey was "thought to be one of the completest matches that ever was played".

21 August (F) Middlesex v Surrey venue unknown result unknown [12]
notes

No details are known.

31 August (M) London v Surrey Artillery Ground London won by 6 runs [7][6]
notes

The stake in this return match on 31 August was 20 guineas.

August Putney v Fulham Putney Heath Putney won [13][12]
notes

The exact date is unknown. The match was reportedly played for "50 guineas per side". It is the only known instance of a team called Putney and of a match at this venue (now within Wimbledon Common), but with the high stakes and its being reported in the press, the match had contemporary importance.

4 September (F) London v Surrey Artillery Ground result unknown [11][6]
notes

The match on 4 September was the third between the London and Surrey teams in 1730.

Single wicket

Thursday, 28 May. Four men of Kent played four of Brentford for £50 in a single wicket match at Westerham Common in Kent, "articles being drawn to play or pay".[7]

Thursday, 4 June. The return match of the above, also for £50, was scheduled at Kew Green.[7]

Monday, 29 June. There was a "two threes" single wicket match for £50 at Mickleham Downs in Surrey between three men of Surrey and three of Sussex. The newspaper report says the players were "esteemed the best in the respective counties" but does not name them. The Sussex three won.[7]

Wednesday, 26 August. Edwin Stead and three colleagues played a four-a-side single wicket match against four Brentford men on Walworth Common "for a considerable wager". The Brentford men won. Given Stead's Kent connection, this may have been a decider following the games on 28 May and 4 June (see above).[14][4]

County cricket

As was generally the case through the 1720s in the time of its noted patron Edwin Stead, the "Champion County"[fc 2] per se would have been Kent.[15] By process of elimination using the known results, Kent seems to have been the strongest county team in 1730. Surrey had beaten Middlesex early in the season but lost twice to London in August. London played Kent three times: one result is unknown, one was apparently a draw (arguably the earliest known drawn game) and the other was won by Kent.[15] The drawn game between Kent and London is significant in this. The St James Evening Post on Saturday, 8 August reported: "'Twas thought that the Kentish champions would have lost their honours by being beat at one innings if time had permitted".[7] This is the first time that a team is called the "champions" while "losing their honours" suggests loss of a title.[15]

Other events

During April, there were reports in a number of journals about the 2nd Duke of Richmond and other members of the nobility playing cricket in Hyde Park. One such report on Tuesday, 7 April, stated: "His Grace the Duke of Richmond, and several other young Noblemen and gentlemen, have begun to divert themselves each Morning at the Play of Cricket in Hide (sic) Park, and design to pursue that wholesome Exercise every fair Morning during the Spring".[16] A report on Wednesday, 22 April, mentioned an intention to play a match for 100 guineas, but no further details have been found.[17]

Monday, 17 August. A twelve-a-side game was played at Tonbridge and "backed by a great many of the noblemen and gentry of that place". It seems to have been a tight contest which was unfinished on the day, so another date was chosen for the conclusion, but nothing further is known.[7]

Friday, 2 October. A match on Datchet Heath, near Windsor, is the first reference to cricket in the county of Buckinghamshire. Note that Datchet is now in Berkshire.[13][18]

First mentions

Counties

Clubs and teams

Players

Venues

Footnotes

  1. ↑ First-class cricket was officially defined in May 1894 by a meeting at Lord's of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the county clubs which were then competing in the County Championship. The ruling was effective from the beginning of the 1895 season. Pre-1895 matches of the same standard have no official definition of status because the ruling is not retrospective and the important matches designation, as applied to a given match, is based on the views of one or more substantial historical sources. For further information, see First-class cricket, Forms of cricket and History of cricket.
  2. ↑ An unofficial seasonal title proclaimed by media or historians prior to December 1889 when the official County Championship was constituted.

References

  1. ↑ McCann, p. 10.
  2. ↑ Ashley-Cooper (KCM), p. 96.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Waghorn (CS), p. 1.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Wilson, p. 44.
  5. 1 2 3 Maun, p. 42.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ACS, Important Matches, p. 19.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Buckley (FL18C), p. 4.
  8. 1 2 Maun, p. 29.
  9. ↑ Maun, p. 43.
  10. ↑ Maun, p. 44.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Waghorn (CS), p. 2.
  12. 1 2 Maun, p. 45.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Waghorn (CS), p. 3.
  14. ↑ Waghorn (CS), pp. 3–4.
  15. 1 2 3 Leach, John (2008). "Champion cricket teams since 1728". Stumpsite. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  16. ↑ Maun, p. 41.
  17. ↑ Buckley (FLPVC), p. 1.
  18. ↑ Maun, p. 46.

Bibliography

  • ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
  • Ashley-Cooper, F. S. (1880). Kent Cricket Matches 1719–1796. Gibbs & Sons.
  • Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
  • Buckley, G. B. (1937). Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Cotterell.
  • McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century. Sussex Record Society.
  • Maun, Ian (2009). From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750. Roger Heavens. ISBN 978 1 900592 52 9.
  • Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730–1773). Blackwood.
  • Wilson, Martin (2005). An Index to Waghorn. Bodyline.

Further reading

  • Altham, H. S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin.
  • Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. Aurum.
  • Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. Eyre & Spottiswoode.
  • Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.
  • Marshall, John (1961). The Duke who was Cricket. Muller.
  • Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Allen Lane.
  • Waghorn, H. T. (1906). The Dawn of Cricket. Electric Press.
  • Leach, John (2008). "Classification of cricket matches from 1697 to 1825". Stumpsite. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
  • Leach, John (2007). "From Lads to Lord's – 1730". Stumpsite. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
  • Collins, A. R. (2016). "Historical Calendar". Dr A. R. Collins.
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