1788 English cricket season

1788 English cricket season

1788 was the second season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). On Friday, 30 May, MCC published a revised code of the Laws of Cricket, calling themselves the "Cricket Club at Marylebone". This action confirmed MCC as the body both in sole charge of the Laws and responsible for the sport's governance. Four weeks later, MCC and its predecessor White Conduit Club played each other at Lord's Old Ground in the earliest match featuring MCC to leave a surviving scorecard.

Important matches

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

date match title venue result source
26–28 May (M-W) Earl of Winchilsea's XI v Sir Horatio Mann's XI Lord's (Dorset Square) Earl of Winchilsea's XI won by 106 runs [1][2]
notes

David Harris took ten wickets in the match for the losing side.

4 June (W) Surrey v Windsor Forest venue at Warfield Windsor Forest won by 206 runs [3][2]
notes
5–7 June (Th-S) Charles Powlett's XI v Gilbert East's XI Lord's (Dorset Square) Powlett's XI won by 25 runs [1][2]
notes

George Louch of East's XI took five catches. He was noted for his close fielding skills.

9–10 June (M-Tu) Surrey v Hampshire Moulsey Hurst Surrey won by 9 wkts [4][2]
notes

Surrey bowlers Lumpy Stevens and Butcher dismissed Hampshire for 59 and 63.

13 June (F) Hornchurch v Moulsey Hurst aka Essex v Surrey Langton Park, Hornchurch result unknown [5][2]
notes

Both teams were listed in full by the newspaper which announced the match but there is no surviving scorecard and the result is unknown. The teams were called Hornchurch and Moulsey Hurst in the newspaper but it was effectively an Essex v Surrey match. The stake was 500 guineas. The announcement included the warning: "no dogs admitted in the field".[5]

17–18 June (Tu-W) Hampshire v England XI Itchin Stoke Down Hampshire won by innings & 76 runs [6][2]
notes
27 June (F) Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) v White Conduit Club (WCC) Lord's (Dorset Square) MCC won by 83 runs [6][2]
notes

This is the earliest MCC match of which the score has survived and so it is of great historical importance. It is in S&B and also in the ACS list. Haygarth in S&B says that although "this is the first recorded Marylebone match", there can be no doubt a few had "come off" previously. He explains his view by reference to the Lord's pavilion fire in 1825 which caused the loss of "many old scores and other valuable records".[7]

2–4 July (W-F) Hampshire v Surrey Perriam Down, Ludgershall Hampshire won by 4 wkts [7][2]
notes
9–11 July (W-F) Earl of Winchilsea's XI v T. A. Smith's XI Perriam Down, Ludgershall Smith's XI won by 3 wkts [8][2]
notes

There is no surviving scorecard for this match between two scratch teams whose patrons wagered 500 guineas.

14 July (M) Hampshire v Surrey Odiham Down result unknown [9][2]
notes

The match was briefly pre-announced a week earlier for a stake of 100 guineas. No scorecard or other details have survived.

15–18 July (Tu-F) Surrey v Kent Moulsey Hurst Surrey won by innings & 65 runs [10][2]
notes

Tom Walker top-scored for Surrey with 93* and it is believed he opened and so carried his bat.

24–25 July (Th-F) England XI v Hampshire Sevenoaks Vine Hampshire won by 53 runs [10][2]
notes

John Crawte made his known debut in senior cricket for the England XI.

29–31 July (Tu-Th) Kent v England XI Coxheath Common All-England won by innings & 80 runs [11][2]
notes

George Louch took six catches in the match for All-England. The ACS Guide has this game on 22–24 July which means it would have clashed with the Sevenoaks game above that featured most of the same players. S&B has the game on 29–31 July and this date seems the more likely.

5-7 Aug (Tu-Th) Kent v Surrey Bourne Paddock Surrey won by 37 runs [12][2]
notes

The Kent v Surrey game listed in Waghorn as being played on 5 July was a wrongly dated duplicate of this 5-7 August game.

13-15 Aug (W-F) Hampshire v Surrey Windmill Down Hampshire won by 4 wkts [12][2]
notes

Andrew Freemantle made his known debut in senior cricket for Hampshire.

26-29 Aug (Tu-F) Sir Horatio Mann's XI v Earl of Winchilsea's XI Bourne Paddock Mann's XI won by 75 runs [13][2]
notes
15-17 Sept (M-W) London v Middlesex venue unknown London by 68 runs [14][2]
notes

The team totals are known but there is no other surviving information. There is no certainty of any connection between this London team, which may have been an ad hoc one, and the London Cricket Club which may have disbanded before 1788. London scored 174 and 38; Middlesex 81 and 63.

22 Sept (M) Leicester v Coventry venue at Lutterworth Leicester won by 28 runs [15]
notes

There is an extensive description in FL18C of this match which was marred by dispute. See also 6–7 August 1787.

Single wicket

  • 21–22 August (Th–F): Six of England v Six of Hampshire at Lord's Old Ground. Hampshire won by 5 wkts.
  • 29 August – 3 Sept (F–W): Six of Kent v Six of Hampshire at Bourne Paddock. Hampshire won by 6 runs.

Other events

A partial score exists of a minor game between Eastbourne and Alfriston that was played on or about 26 July (FLPV).

First mentions

Leading batsmen

Note that many scorecards in the 18th century are unknown or have missing details and so it is impossible to provide a complete analysis of batting performances: e.g., the missing not outs prevent computation of batting averages. The "runs scored" are in fact the runs known. The leading batsmen in 1788 included Billy Beldham, Tom Walker, Richard Purchase, Harry Walker, James Aylward, John Small, Noah Mann and John Wells.[16]

Leading bowlers

Note that the wickets credited to an 18th-century bowler were only those where he bowled the batsman out. The bowler was not credited with the wickets of batsmen who were caught out, even if it was "caught and bowled". In addition, the runs conceded by each bowler were not recorded so no analyses or averages can be computed. The leading bowlers in 1788 included David Harris, Edward "Lumpy" Stevens, Robert Clifford, Butcher (Surrey), Noah Mann, Richard Purchase, Gilbert East, Tom Taylor, William Brazier, William Bullen and John Boorman.[13]

Leading fielders

Note that many scorecards in the 18th century are unknown or have missing details and so the totals are of the known catches and stumpings only. Stumpings were not always recorded as such and sometimes the name of the wicket-keeper was not given. Generally, a catch was given the same status as "bowled" with credit being awarded to the fielder only and not the bowler. There is never a record of "caught and bowled": the bowler would be credited with the catch, not with the wicket. The leading fielders in 1788 included George Louch, Harry Walker, Billy Beldham, Thomas Taylor, Richard Purchase, Robert Clifford, William Bullen and John Wells.[13]

Notes

  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.

References

  1. 1 2 Haygarth, p. 81.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 ACS, Important Matches, p. 27.
  3. ↑ Waghorn, pp. 91–92.
  4. ↑ Haygarth, p. 82.
  5. 1 2 Buckley, FL18C, p. 125.
  6. 1 2 Haygarth, p. 83.
  7. 1 2 Haygarth, pp. 83–84.
  8. ↑ Waghorn, p. 93.
  9. ↑ Buckley, FL18C, p. 126.
  10. 1 2 Haygarth, p. 85.
  11. ↑ Haygarth, p. 86.
  12. 1 2 Haygarth, p. 87.
  13. 1 2 3 Haygarth, p. 88.
  14. ↑ Buckley, FL18C, p. 131.
  15. ↑ Buckley, FL18C, pp. 132–134.
  16. ↑ Haygarth, pp. 79–89.

Bibliography

  • ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
  • Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
  • Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite.
  • 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.
  • Ashley-Cooper, F. S. (1924). Hambledon Cricket Chronicle 1772–1796. Jenkins.
  • 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.
  • McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century. Sussex Record Society.
  • Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.
  • Mote, Ashley (1997). The Glory Days of Cricket. Robson.
  • Nyren, John (1998). Ashley Mote, ed. The Cricketers of my Time. Robson.
  • Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Allen Lane.
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