1788 English cricket season

Cricket season review May 2024 May 2024 1787 1787 English cricket season 1789 1789 English cricket season In the 1788 English cricket season, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) published a revised code of the Laws of Cricket, thereby confirming itself as the body in sole charge of the Laws, and taking responsibility for the sport's governance. MCC was then called "The Cricket Club at St. Marylebone", contrasting with its predecessor, the White Conduit Club of Islington, which remained active in 1788. As in 1787, their two teams played against each other at Lord's.note Lord's There have been three grounds called Lord's. The first, now known as Lord's Old Ground, was opened by Thomas Lord in May 1787. It was MCC's home ground until 1810 when Lord quit the site because of a rent dispute. The Old Ground was where modern Dorset Square is located. Lord established a new ground at North Bank, near St John's Wood. This is now known as Lord's Middle Ground and it was only in use for three years. Lord and MCC were forced to relocate again after the land was requisitioned for the cutting of the Regent's Canal. In 1814, Lord opened the current Lord's Cricket Ground on the site of a former duckpond in St John's Wood.Warner 1946 17–19 A total of fifteen historically important eleven-a-side match scorecards have survived, and there are brief newspaper mentions of five other matches, including two played under single wicket rules.note status Any match listed in the ACS' Important Match Guide (1981) is historically important, and therefore of the highest standard, whether or not a scorecard might exist. The same applies to numerous matches discovered by researchers since 1981.ACS 1981 1–40 For further information, see First-class cricket. MCC Laws of Cricket revised Laws of Cricket Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) formally revised the Laws of Cricket in a meeting on 30 May.Haygarth 1996 79–80 The leg before wicket (lbw) Law no longer mentioned the batsman's intention:Haygarth 1996 80 (The striker is out) if with his foot or leg he stops the ball, which the bowler, in the opinion of the umpire at the bowler's wicket,shall have pitched in straight line to the wicket, and would have hit it. Another change was the provision that no run is allowed when the batsman is caught. This had been one of the rules in the 1727 Articles of Agreement which said: "When a Ball is caught out, the Stroke counts nothing".Bowen 1970 267 The 1788 version ended with a section called "Bets", an attempt to regulate gambling at cricket matches.Haygarth 1996 80 Marylebone Cricket Club v White Conduit Club Played 27 June at Lord's. MCC won by 83 runs.Haygarth 1996 83–84 This is the earliest match involving an MCC team to leave a surviving scorecard and so, although it was "gentlemen only", it is of great historical importance. It is also the last match in which a White Conduit team is known to have taken part, and so the merger of the two clubs may have been completed soon afterwards. 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". MCC scored 62 and 124; White Conduit 42 and 61. Gilbert East of MCC bowled nine in the match; the highest runscorers were Peter Burrell (14 and 33) and George Talbot (20* and 31), both of MCC.Haygarth 1996 83–84 England matches There were four matches involving teams called England.note England Teams called England had been formed since the 1730s.Waghorn 1899 22–23 They were by no means international or even national. Cricket in the 18th century was mostly confined to the south-eastern counties around London, and England of the time consisted of players from these counties. The teams were in the nature of "Rest of England" and were formed to play against a strong club or county team.ACS 1981 23 Hampshire v England Played 17–18 June at Itchin Stoke Down, near Alresford. Hampshire won by an innings and 76 runs.Haygarth 1996 83ACS 1981 27 England v Hampshire Played 24–25 July at Sevenoaks Vine. Hampshire won by 53 runs. John Crawte, playing for England, made his first known appearance.Haygarth 1996 85ACS 1981 27 Kent v England Played 29–31 July at Coxheath Common, England won by an innings and 80 runs. George Louch, who was from Chatham and usually played for Kent, took six catches in the match for 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 these dates seem the more likely.Haygarth 1996 86ACS 1981 27 England VI v Hampshire VI (single wicket) Played 21–22 August at Lord's. Hampshire won by 5 wickets. England scored 8 and 19; Hampshire 24 and 4/1. David Harris bowled eight and caught one of the twelve England wickets.Haygarth 1996 88 Inter-county matches Surrey v Hampshire Played 9–10 June at Moulsey Hurst. Surrey won by 9 wickets. Surrey bowlers Lumpy Stevens and Stephen Butcher dismissed Hampshire for 59 and 63.Haygarth 1996 82ACS 1981 27 Essex v Surrey Played 13 June at Langton Park, Hornchurch. Result unknown.Buckley 1935 125ACS 1981 27 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. The stake was 500 guineas. The announcement included the warning: "No dogs admitted in the field".Buckley 1935 125 Hampshire v Surrey Played 2–4 July at Perriam Down, Ludgershall. Hampshire won by 4 wickets.Haygarth 1996 84ACS 1981 27 Hampshire v Surrey Played 14 July at Odiham Down. Result unknown.Buckley 1935 126ACS 1981 27 The match was briefly pre-announced a week earlier for a stake of 100 guineas. No scorecard or other details have survived. Surrey v Kent Played 15–18 July at Moulsey Hurst. Surrey won by an innings and 65 runs. Tom Walker top-scored for Surrey with 93*. It is believed he opened and so he carried his bat.Haygarth 1996 85ACS 1981 27 Kent v Surrey Played 5–7 August at Bishopsbourne Paddock. Surrey won by 37 runs.Haygarth 1996 87ACS 1981 27 Hampshire v Surrey Played 13–15 August at Windmill Down. Hampshire won by 4 wickets. Andrew Freemantle made his first known appearance in senior cricket for Hampshire.Haygarth 1996 87ACS 1981 27 Kent VI v Hampshire VI (single wicket) Played 29 August to 3 September at Bishopsbourne Paddock. Hampshire won by 6 runs. The match was six-a-side and took six days to complete. Hampshire scored 25 and 17; Kent 4 and 32.Haygarth 1996 89 London v Middlesex Played 15–17 September at an unknown venue. London won by 68 runs. The team totals are known but there is no other surviving information. There is no certainty of any connection between this London team, which was possibly an ad hoc one, and the famous London Cricket Club which may have disbanded before 1788. London scored 174 and 38; Middlesex 81 and 63.Buckley 1935 131ACS 1981 27 Other matches Earl of Winchilsea's XI v Sir Horatio Mann's XI Played 26–28 May at Lord's. The Earl of Winchilsea's XI won by 106 runs. David Harris, playing for Mann's XI, took ten wickets (bowled) in the match.Haygarth 1996 81ACS 1981 27 Surrey v Windsor Forest Played 4 June at Warfield, Windsor Forest won by 206 runs.Waghorn 2005 91–92ACS 1981 27 Charles Powlett's XI v Gilbert East's XI Played 5–7 June at Lord's. Powlett's XI won by 25 runs. George Louch, noted for his close fielding skills, took five catches for East's XI.Haygarth 1996 81ACS 1981 27 Earl of Winchilsea's XI v T. A. Smith's XI Played 9–11 July at Perriam Down. T. A. Smith's XI won by 3 wickets. There is no surviving scorecard for this match between two scratch teams whose patrons wagered 500 guineas.Waghorn 2005 93ACS 1981 27 Sir Horatio Mann's XI v Earl of Winchilsea's XI Played 26–29 August at Bishopsbourne Paddock. Mann's XI won by 75 runs.Haygarth 1996 88ACS 1981 27 Leicester v Coventry Played 22 Sept at Lutterworth. Leicester won by 28 runs. The source provides an extensive description of this match, between two town clubs. It was marred by dispute.Buckley 1935 132–134 Other events A partial score exists of a game between Eastbourne and Alfriston that was played on or about 26 July.Buckley 1937 15 Notes note References Bibliography ACS Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863 1981 ACS Nottingham https://archive.acscricket.com/online_library/match_guides/bi_imp_match_guide/index.html 85045528 Bowen Rowland Rowland Bowen Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development 1970 Eyre & Spottiswoode London 978-04-13278-60-9 Buckley G. B. G. B. Buckley Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket 1935 Cotterell & Co. Birmingham 23450280 Buckley G. B. G. B. Buckley Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket 1937 Cotterell & Co. Birmingham 23469107 Haygarth Arthur Arthur Haygarth Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826) Frederick Lillywhite Kennington 1996 1862 978-19-00592-23-9 Waghorn H. T. H. T. Waghorn Cricket Scores, Notes, &c. From 1730–1773 Blackwood Edinburgh 1899 1086375331 Waghorn H. T. H. T. Waghorn The Dawn of Cricket J. W. McKenzie London 2005 1906 978-09-47821-17-3 Warner Pelham Pelham Warner Lords: 1787–1945 1946 Harrap London 877106024 Further reading Altham H. S. Harry Altham E. W. Swanton E. W. Swanton A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914) 5th 1962 George Allen & Unwin London 894274808 Birley Derek Derek Birley A Social History of English Cricket 1999 Aurum Press London 978-18-54107-10-7 https://archive.org/details/socialhistoryofe0000birl_d1n5 Internet Archive Major John John Major More Than A Game 2007 HarperCollins London 978-00-07183-64-7 https://archive.org/details/morethangamestor0000majo_b8t0 Internet Archive Wilson Martin An Index to Waghorn Bodyline Books (limited edition, by subscription only) London 2005 Category:1780s in cricket Category:English cricket seasons in the 18th century Category:1788 in England