1730 English cricket season

Cricket season review September 2024 September 2024 1729 1731 The most noticeable aspect of the 1730 English cricket season is the largest number of matches on record to date, with much more coverage in the newspapers than in all previous seasons. Significantly, the surviving reports show the growing importance of the sport in metropolitan London and its surrounding areas. The Artillery Ground entered the historical record for the first time while London Cricket Club established its prominence. The club's rivals tended to be county teams with Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, and Sussex all active. Details of twenty historically important 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. Richmond v Gage thumb|right|The Dripping Pan is still a sporting venue. In Sussex, the cricketing rivalry between Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Sir William Gage was set to continue and at least two matches were arranged.ACS 1981 19 However, it is not certain if either were played and one was certainly "put off". In a letter written by one Henry Forster on 10 June, he says (sic): "Ye say in Chichester his grace [Richmond] is to play a cricket mach friday [12 June] with Sr Willm Gaige on Bery Hill". No other details have been found.McCann 2004 10Maun 2009 42 Richmond's XI and Gage's XI were due to play again 5 August at The Dripping Pan in Lewes, but 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. The Dripping Pan is a grassy-banked natural amphitheatre off Mountfield Road in Lewes; it is today the home of Lewes F.C.Waghorn 1899 1Wilson 2005 44McCann 2004 10Maun 2009 43 County cricket In the sense of both teams being labelled with the names of counties, there were four "inter-county" matches, but 18th century nomenclature should never be taken literally as a team called, say, Sussex might mean nothing more than the fact that its patron lived in that county.ACS 1981 17 Surrey defeated Middlesex 2–4 July on Richmond Green, and Sussex 9 July on Merrow Down, Guildford—in both matches, the margin of victory is unknown.Waghorn 1899 1Wilson 2005 44Buckley 1935 4Maun 2009 42 Surrey played Middlesex again on 10 August and this time Middlesex won. That match is the earliest known to have been played on the Artillery Ground, in Finsbury.Maun 2009 44note HAC Several 18th century reports mention the location of the Artillery Ground between Chiswell Street and Bunhill Fields, then in Finsbury. Owned by the Honourable Artillery Company, it was often referenced in contemporary reports as the "old" Artillery Ground, perhaps because it had long been used frequently for other forms of sport or entertainment. It was the feature venue for London cricket from 1730 until the 1760s, and was last used for an important match in 1778.Webber 1960 14 A third match was proposed as "the Surrey gentlemen are very desirous of saving their credit if possible".Maun 2009 44 A provisional date of 17 August was set but there was no mention of a venue.Maun 2009 44 Kent v London Kent, under its patron Edwin Stead, seems to have been the strongest county team. The St James Evening Post on 8 August reported: "'Twas thought that the Kentish champions would have lost their honours by being beat at one innings if time had permitted". The match in question was played 5 August in Blackheath against London, whose team often opposed counties, and the wording of the report suggests that the result was cricket's earliest known draw. It is also the first time that a team was called the "champions", while "losing their honours" suggests the loss of a title, though no titles of any kind were officially recognised at the time.Buckley 1935 4Maun 2009 43 The reference to 'innings' in the report is the earliest on record. The origin of the term is unknown.Buckley 1935 4Maun 2009 130 In all, Kent played three matches against London.ACS 1981 19 The first was on 2 July at a venue in the Gray's Inn area, and Kent won that by an unknown margin. The precise location was "a field near the lower end of Gray's Inn Lane, London". The newspaper reported "a cricket-match between the Kentish men and the Londoners for £50, and won by the former".Waghorn 1899 1Wilson 2005 44Ashley-Cooper 1929 96 The second match was the probable draw on 5 August, and they played a third match 12 August at Frog Lane in Islington but, as the newspaper reported: "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, and it was agreed to resume 18 August on Kennington Common, but the final result is unknown.Waghorn 1899 2 Surrey v London Surrey also played three matches against London.ACS 1981 19 The first was played 17 August on Kennington Common, the others 31 August and 4 September on the Artillery Ground. London won the first two by margins of one run and six runs respectively; the result of the third match is unknown. A brief report of the match on Kennington Common says it was "thought to be one of the completest matches that ever was played". The stake on 31 August was 20 guineas.Waghorn 1899 2Buckley 1935 4 Single wicket Reports of four single wicket matches have been found. Three of these appear to have been a series between Four of Kent and Four of Brentford. The first two were played for a stake of £50 and the third, perhaps a decider, "for a considerable wager". Edwin Stead captained Kent.Buckley 1935 4Waghorn 1899 3–4Wilson 2005 44 The first match was played 28 May on Westerham Common, "articles being drawn to play or pay", and this was followed by a return on 4 June at Kew Green—neither result is known.Buckley 1935 4 The third match did not take place until 26 August on Walworth Common and Four of Brentford won it.Waghorn 1899 3–4Wilson 2005 44 On 29 June, there was a "two threes" single wicket match for £50 at Mickleham Downs between Three of Surrey and Three of Sussex. A report in the London Evening Post says the players were "esteemed the best in the respective counties", but does not name them. The Sussex trio won.Buckley 1935 4McCann 2004 10 Other events thumb|right|Hyde Park, where the Duke of Richmond played in 1730. 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 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".Maun 2009 41 A report on 25 April anticipated a match for 100 guineas, but no further details have been found.Buckley 1937 1 In July, Surrey's patron for their match against Sussex was a Mr Andrews. It is known that he was a resident of Sunbury-on-Thames.Waghorn 1899 1 Evidence of how cricket was gaining media coverage is apparent in reports of local matches on 9 and 13 July. The first, "for a guinea a man" was a single wicket match won by three players from Hawkhurst. The second was between a "gentlemen only" team and the so-called "Lumbar Troop"—the result is unknown.Maun 2009 43 On 23 July, Epsom played Sunbury on Epsom Down, but no details are known.Buckley 1935 4 Greenwich Cricket Club played London in Blackheath on 31 July, but the stake was relatively low at 20 guineas and London may not have sent their strongest team.Buckley 1935 4 A twelve-a-side game was played 17 August 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.Buckley 1935 4 On 9 September, there was a match on Putney Heath between Putney and Fulham for a stake of 50 guineas. Putney won by an unknown margin. It is the only known instance of a team called Putney and of a match at this venue, which is now part of Wimbledon Common.Waghorn 1899 3Maun 2009 44–45 A match played 2 October on Datchet Heath, near Windsor, is the first reference to cricket in the county of Buckinghamshire. (Datchet is now in Berkshire).Waghorn 1899 3Maun 2009 46 First mentions Counties BuckinghamshireWaghorn 1899 3 Clubs and teams BrentfordBuckley 1935 4 EpsomBuckley 1935 4 FulhamWaghorn 1899 3 GreenwichBuckley 1935 4 MiddlesexWaghorn 1899 1 PutneyWaghorn 1899 3 SunburyBuckley 1935 4 Players Mr Andrews (Sunbury and Surrey)Waghorn 1899 1 Venues Blackheath (unspecified)Buckley 1935 4 Datchet Heath, near WindsorWaghorn 1899 3Maun 2009 46 The Dripping Pan, LewesWaghorn 1899 1 Epsom DownBuckley 1935 4 Frog Lane, IslingtonWaghorn 1899 2 Gray's Inn Lane, LondonWaghorn 1899 1 Kew GreenBuckley 1935 4 Merrow Down, GuildfordWaghorn 1899 1 Mickleham DownsBuckley 1935 4 Putney HeathWaghorn 1899 3 Tonbridge (unspecified)Buckley 1935 4 Westerham CommonBuckley 1935 4 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 Buckley G. B. G. B. Buckley Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket 1937 Cotterell & Co. Birmingham 23469107 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 Webber Roy Roy Webber The Phoenix History of Cricket 1960 Phoenix House Ltd Charing Cross, London 5391059 Wilson Martin An Index to Waghorn Bodyline Books (limited edition, by subscription only) London 2005 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 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 Marshall John John Marshall (cricket writer) The Duke Who Was Cricket Frederick Muller Ltd London 1961 11214571 Category:1730s in cricket Category:1730 in England Category:English cricket seasons in the 18th century