1734 English cricket season

Cricket season review November 2025 November 2025 1733 1733 English cricket season 1735 1735 English cricket season In the 1734 English cricket season, the active teams were four counties (Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, and Sussex); and two clubs (Croydon and London). Records have been found of the earliest known match at the Vine Cricket Ground in Sevenoaks (aka Sevenoaks Vine). Details of eight matches are known.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.. London v Croydon These teams had been rivals for some years past, but relations took a turn for the worst in 1734 after Croydon allegedly failed to arrive for a match which London said had definitely been arranged. The London people were especially aggrieved that Croydon did this after "having been regaled with a good dinner".Maun 2009 65–66 The teams had met twice in mid-season. Croydon won at Duppas Hill on or about 25 July,Waghorn 1899 6 and London won a return match at the Artillery Ground on 1 August.Buckley 1935 9ACS 1981 20 Then, in September, London issued a challenge "to play with any eleven men in England, with this exception only, that they will not admit of one from Croydon".Waghorn 1899 7 No surviving post-match report has been found, and so there is no evidence that the game took place. As London wished to play "any eleven men in England" (excluding players from Croydon), and not just any team in England, it appears that they welcomed all-comers, and that the players in the "any eleven" team, if it was formed, would have been drawn from a number of clubs and counties.Maun 2009 65–66 London v Kent London had two matches against Kent, the first on 12 June at Dartford Brent.ACS 1981 20 A report said that London won "though there was 6 to 4 laid against London in the middle of the game".Buckley 1935 9 No scores are known. The return match was a week later, at the Artillery Ground on 19 June.ACS 1981 20 This time, London won convincingly by an innings & 25 runs. Kent scored 31 and 51; London scored 107.Buckley 1935 9 London v Surrey London played Surrey on 26 August at Kennington Common.ACS 1981 20 The result is unknown. The match was pre-announced in the London Evening Post of Thursday, 22 August. It says: "the wickets to be pitched precisely (sic) between 12 and 1 o'clock"! No surviving post-match report has been found.Buckley 1935 9 Kent v Sussex Kent and Sussex played each other on 6 and 11 September. The first match was on Sevenoaks Vine, its earliest known use as a venue.Waghorn 1899 7–8Maun 2009 65ACS 1981 20 Lord Middlesex and his brother Lord John Sackville played for Kent; and Sir William Gage for Sussex.Ashley-Cooper 1929 8 Kent won by an unknown margin.Waghorn 1899 7 The game on 11 September was to be played in Lewes, perhaps at The Dripping Pan, but no post-match report has been found.McCann 2004 15 Sevenoaks Vine is one of the oldest cricket grounds in England. It was given to the town of Sevenoaks in 1773 by John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset, the owner of Knole House, where the ground is located. The land was thought previously to have been used as a vineyard for the Archbishops of Canterbury (hence the name). The weatherboard pavilion is 19th-century. The Vine Cricket Club must pay Sevenoaks Town Council a rent of 2 peppercorns per year – one for the ground, and one for the pavilion. They, in turn, must pay Lord Sackville (if asked) one cricket ball on 21 July each year. Lord Middlesex became the 2nd Duke of Dorset in 1765. The famous 3rd Duke was his nephew, being the son of Lord John Sackville.http://svcc1734.org/info/history/brief-history/ A Brief History of SVCC and Cricket on Sevenoaks Vine Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club 2022 4 April 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20221208051313/http://svcc1734.org/info/history/brief-history/ 8 December 2022https://www.savills.co.uk/insight-and-opinion/savills-news/118835-0/not-to-be-sneezed-at---a-peppercorn-paid-from-savills-sponsored-cricket-club Not to be Sneezed at – a peppercorn paid from Savills sponsored cricket club Savills 31 July 2012 4 April 2026 Other events Thu 13 June. The St James Evening Post reported a couple of serious injuries in a private match at the Artillery Ground: "...a stander-by (sic) had the misfortune to have his knee-pan put out by a blow from the ball, and another was much bruised in the face by a like accident".Buckley 1935 9 A game between London and Sevenoaks, arranged for Monday, 8 July, on Kennington Common, was not played due to the non-appearance of the Sevenoaks team. The Whitehall Evening Post reported that, according to the Articles of Agreement, their deposit money was forfeit. Since the first known use of Articles of Agreement in the 1727 season at the Alan Brodrick's XI v 2nd Duke of Richmond's XI match, it had perhaps become common practice to draw up such an agreement before important matches, especially if large stakes were involved.Buckley 1935 9 First mentions Clubs and teams England Eleven (excluding Croydon)Maun 2009 65–66 Players Charles Sackville, Lord MiddlesexWaghorn 1899 57 Lord John Philip SackvilleWaghorn 1899 57 Venues Vine Cricket Ground, Sevenoaks, aka Sevenoaks VineWaghorn 1899 57 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 Ashley-Cooper F. S. F. S. Ashley-Cooper Kent Cricket Matches, 1719–1880 Gibbs & Sons Canterbury 1929 220674085 Buckley G. B. G. B. Buckley Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket 1935 Cotterell & Co. Birmingham 23450280 Maun Ian Ian Maun From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750 2009 Roger Heavens Cambridge 978-19-00592-52-9 McCann Tim Timothy J. McCann Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century 2004 West Sussex Record Office Lewes 978-08-54450-55-8 https://www.sussexrecordsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/Digital_editions/SRS-Vol-88.pdf 88 Waghorn H. T. H. T. Waghorn Cricket Scores, Notes, &c. From 1730–1773 Blackwood Edinburgh 1899 1086375331 Further reading ACS 1982 A Guide to FC Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles ACS Nottingham https://archive.acscricket.com/online_library/match_guides/bi_match_guide/index.html 10586869 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 Bowen Rowland Rowland Bowen Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development 1970 Eyre & Spottiswoode London 978-04-13278-60-9 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:1730s in cricket Category:English cricket seasons in the 18th century Category:1734 in England