1744 English cricket season

1744 was the 48th English cricket season since the earliest known important match was played. Details have survived of 22 important eleven-a-side^[1] and three single wicket matches. It was a pivotal season in English cricket history because the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket was written by a group calling themselves the "Noblemen and Gentlemen" of the London Cricket Club.

The season is also notable for the two earliest known surviving match scorecards. The first, containing individual scores but no details of dismissal, has survived from the London v Slindon game on Saturday, 2 June. Just over a fortnight later on Monday, 18 June, there was a celebrated match in which Kent challenged a team representing the rest of England at the Artillery Ground. Kent won a dramatic contest by a single wicket despite needing several runs to win when their last pair of batsmen came together. The scorecard became the first entry in Arthur Haygarth's Scores & Biographies, though he had the date wrong. It is not until the 1772 season that any more scorecards of important matches have survived (a handful of cards from minor matches have been found).

In September, Slindon defeated London and then issued its famous challenge to play any parish in England. The challenge was accepted by the Addington and Bromley clubs, which both had fine teams, but the two challenge matches may have been hit by bad weather and it is not known if they were completed.

Laws of Cricket

The first known coded issue of the Laws of Cricket can be traced to 1744, possibly an upgrade of an earlier code. They are here reproduced in full.^[2] The Laws were drawn up by the noblemen and gentlemen members of the London Cricket Club, which was based at the Artillery Ground. The intention must have been to establish a universal codification. A general set of rules was in place subject to local variations but, apart from cases where Articles of Agreement were drawn up, as for the Richmond v Brodrick matches in the 1727 season, the rules as such were agreed orally. By and large, the same rules had existed since time immemorial.^[2]

A summary of the main points:^[2]

• there is reference to the toss of a coin and the pitch dimensions;
• the stumps must be 22 inches (560 mm) high with a six-inch (152 mm) bail;
• the ball must weigh between five and six ounces;
• overs last four balls;
• the no ball is the penalty for overstepping, which means the hind foot going in front of the bowling crease (i.e., in direct line of the wicket);
• the popping crease is exactly 3 feet ten inches before the bowling crease;
• various means of "it is out" are included;
• hitting the ball twice and obstructing the field are emphatically out following experiences in the 17th century;
• the wicket keeper is required to be still and quiet until the ball is bowled;
• umpires must allow two minutes for a new batsman to arrive and ten minutes between innings (meal and rain breaks presumably excepted);
• the umpire cannot give a batsman out if the fielders do not appeal;
• the umpire is allowed a certain amount of discretion and it is made clear that the umpire is the "sole judge" and that "his determination shall be absolute"

The Laws do not say the bowler must roll the ball and there is no mention of prescribed arm action so, in theory, a pitched delivery would have been legal, though potentially controversial.^[2]

The earliest known scorecard

When London played a combined Surrey & Sussex team at the Artillery Ground on Saturday, 2 June, details of individual scores were recorded and the scorecard was kept by the Duke of Richmond at Goodwood House.^[3] It gives scores only and no means of dismissal. It does not give much information about the players except their surnames although the scorer did think to differentiate between the two pairs of brothers (the Harrises and Newlands) who were playing.

The Daily Advertiser carried various notices from Thursday, 31 May until Sunday, 3 June which announced that two untitled sides would play in the Artillery Ground on Saturday, 2 June. On 31 May, the paper said that the teams would consist of "four gentlemen from Slindon, one from Eastbourne, two from Hamilton (sic) in Sussex, one from Addington and three from Lingfield in Surrey" against "four gentlemen of London, one from Richmond, one from Reigate, three from Addington in Surrey, one from Bray Wick in Berkshire and one from Arundel in Sussex". This was followed by the usual reminder about no dogs and the need to obtain a pass ticket if leaving the ground during play.^[3]

The Daily Advertiser changed its notice on Friday, 1 June through 2 and 3 June by announcing the names of the players on each side, but the names in the paper are not the same as those on the scorecard kept by the Duke of Richmond. The same (i.e., incorrect) names were also reported on 3 June, the day after the match.^[3] The paper announced that the two teams would consist of: Cuddy, Richard Newland, Adam Newland, John Newland, Ridgeway, Green of Sussex; Sawyer, Stevens, Stevens, Collins of Surrey; and Norris of London versus Dingate, John Harris, Joseph Harris, Faulkner, Jackson, Maynard of Surrey; Bennett, Bryant, Smith, Howlett of London; and Waymark of Berkshire.^[4] No titles were given to the teams at the time (various titles have been applied retrospectively by modern authors). Bryant was one of the two brothers of that name, John and James, who were prominent Kent players of the time, while Bennett was one of "Little" or "Tall" Bennett, both noted batsmen in the 1740s.

According to the Duke of Richmond’s papers, which are now in the possession of the West Sussex Record Office, including the recorded scores of this match, the teams were somewhat different from those advertised.^[3] No team names were allocated at the time and future accounts label the match in different ways. London v Surrey & Sussex is used here because London (with their "given men") was the home club and their opponents were all from Surrey or Sussex.

There were two players called Bryant (James and John) and two called Bennett who were always referred to as Little Bennett and Tall Bennett. It is not known which player in each of these pairs took part. Note also that there were two Harrises who both played; and the three Newland brothers, of whom John did not play. Edward Aburrow senior, alias Cuddy and a notorious smuggler, was the father of the later Hambledon player of the same name. Thomas Waymark was formerly employed by Sussex's benefactor the Duke of Richmond but he was here given as a Berkshire resident and playing for the London XI.^[3]

The match included one of cricket's earliest known declarations by Surrey & Sussex in their second innings at 102–6, although the term "declaration" was not in use at that time and neither was the concept generally recognised. Rather it was a case of Surrey & Sussex "forfeiting" part of their innings in order to allow time to bowl out their opponents. This was also the first known game at which tickets for readmission were issued to the spectators.^[4]

Important matches

The following matches are classified as important:^{[note 1]}

Single wicket

Monday, 20 August. There was a single wicket match "for a large sum" between a Sevenoaks player (perhaps Val Romney) and a London player. No other details are known.^[9]

Monday, 17 September. A big game between two "threes" at the Artillery Ground. Billed as "Long Robin's Side v Richard Newland's Side", the teams were Robert Colchin (aka "Long Robin"; Bromley), Val Romney (Sevenoaks) and John Bryant (Addington) against Richard Newland (Slindon), Edward Aburrow senior (Slindon) and Joe Harris (Addington). Aburrow replaced John Mills of Horsmonden, the "famous Kent bowler" who was originally chosen. The stake was two hundred guineas and the players involved were stated to be the "best in England". Once again, despite this being a senior fixture, the outcome is unknown.^[21][25]

Monday, 1 October. Another "threes" game was played at the Artillery Ground for a considerable sum and again the outcome is unknown. The sides were Robert Colchin, James Bryant and Joe Harris versus John Bryant, Val Romney and Thomas Waymark.^[21]

Other events

Monday, 11 June. The Penny London Morning Advertiser announced a match on Walworth Common in Surrey between "11 gentlemen of the Borough of Southwark and 11 gentlemen of High Kent and Blackman; the wickets to be pitched at one o'clock". The announcement continued: "The gentlemen who play this match have subscribed for a Holland smock of one guinea value, which will be run for by two jolly wenches, one known by the name of The Little Bit of Blue (the handsome Broom Girl) at the fag end of Kent Street, and the other Black Bess of the Mint. They are to run in drawers only and there is excellent sport expected". As for security: "Captain Vinegar with a great many of his bruisers and bulldogs will attend to make a ring, that no civil spectators may be incommoded by the rabble".^[26]

The Penny London Morning Advertiser on Wednesday, 27 June advertised a match to be played next day on Woolwich Common between Woolwich and "the Club in Long Lane, Southwark".^[17]

First mentions

Thanks to the survival of scorecards from two matches in 1744, the names of a great many players from the period are known. The players listed below are named on the two scorecards but the spans of their careers is generally unknown. It is believed that Dingate, for example, was active in the 1720s while others may have continued into the 1760s.

Leading players

Notes

References

Bibliography

• ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
• Ashley-Cooper, F. S. (1900). At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742–1751. Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game. London: Cricket Magazine. OCLC 28863559.
• Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
• Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite.
• 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.
• Waghorn, H. T. (1906). The Dawn of Cricket. Electric Press.
• 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.
• Buckley, G. B. (1937). Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Cotterell.
• 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.
• Collins, A. R. (2016). "Historical Calendar". Dr A. R. Collins.
• Marylebone Cricket Club (2017). "The official Laws of Cricket". MCC.